Trouble in Trenton
by Katherin Bend
Summary: Stephanie Plum has been working at Rangeman...will the latest takedown be her last ?
1. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 1

A/N: Hi friends!!! This is my first delve into probably my most FAVORITE series of books ever. I adore Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum. I'll warn you- this is NOT going to be a Joe vs Ranger story. I always thought Joe was an ass and got away with treating Stephanie pretty shitty. And Ranger, God knows he's hot and steamy, but he isn't right for her either (at least not atm). So let's explore some other options! I own no one, except the characters I make up. I also don't know all the characters true names, backgrounds or appearances so I'm making those up too. Enjoy!!* I am editing chapters when I find errors*

Trouble in Trenton

Chapter 1

Ranger POV

I sat, waiting for Stephanie to emerge from the apartment in my building where she was getting ready, thinking to myself _how did we get here_ ? It started out innocently enough, or at least as innocent as the two of us could be. She has been a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie for the last 2 years, and while she has good instincts she has a lousy sense of awareness to her surroundings. Hence my involvement with her. I own Rangeman, a security operation that handles large skips and security contracts around the world. Tonight? Is a distraction set up, and why I'm waiting for Stephanie to show. I'm surrounded by my team members, as they make idle conversation and I'm lost in my thoughts. Bringing Stephanie on board has made my team a little soft, they typically let nothing distract them, but in the long run I think it'll be a good thing. We don't have female employees with the exception of Ella, our housekeeper and in house "Mom", so the men have had a bit of an adjustment period working around Stephanie but they've bounced back pretty well. I glance around the table at my crew, Tank is my second. Strong, sturdy, and has that nickname for a reason, he's even bigger than I am (and that's saying something). Next to him my cousin Lester Santos, always joking but who I know I can count on in a pinch. Then there's Robert Brown , aka Bobby our medic. We also have Hector, Hal, Cal, Ram, Hank and several other members chatting up a storm, getting ready for the op. I hear silence fall over the room as I glance at the doorway, and there she is. Stephanie Plum, dressed in a skin tight blue top that matches her eyes, a skirt that barely covers her ass, FMP's and her brown curly hair somehow inexplicably tamed. I can hear my men shift around in their seats, and I understand why. My pants got tight the second I laid eyes on her all those years ago in that diner and they never have got any more comfortable since then, but tonight… Tonight I needed to keep my brain focused . I stood up and walked to her "Babe." My nickname for her always on the tip of my tounge.

"So, is this the look you were going for?" she smiled and I swear I could hear the men muttering responses under their breath. I shot them all a look but that didn't stop my cousin from jumping up and sliding over to her.

"Beautiful, you are… just… wow." Lester was never one to be short on a lewd comment or two, so his lack of words struck me as comical.

Stephanie just laughed, her curls bobbing. "Oh Lester, you know just what to say to a girl don't you?"

Stephanie's POV

I looked in the mirror at myself, pretty pleased. I was at Rangeman getting ready for a distraction op, and had gone all out. Oh I should back up a bit probably. I am Stephanie Plum, aka the Bombshell Bounty Hunter of Trenton NJ. Why the nickname? I have a tendency to attract shit, literally as well as figuratively. I can't explain the amount of times I've been covered in garbage of one sort or another . I also tend to lose vehicles at a rather impressive rate. I work for Vincent Plum, my cousin, at his bail bonds office picking up skips that "forgot" to go to their bond hearings. Sometimes I'm pretty good, I can go a whole day without someone trying to run me down or shoot at me, and then other days… well, today marks the 15th one of my vehicles to cross over to that big car lot in the sky. It wasn't my fault! It usually isn't, but the whole "attracting shit " aspect of my life just keeps rearing it's lovely head.

So I have been working for my cousin for the last couple of years, but my first day on the job was a doozy. My skip? The person I needed to track down was none other than my good for nothing ex Joseph Morelli, who had been accused of murder. Yeah, the cop Joe Morelli, who I played choo-choo with at 6 years old, and who took my innocence behind the counter at the Tasty Pastry where I worked when I was 16… that Joseph Morelli. Joe and I had tried to work things out over the years, even after I ran him over when I was 19 with my grandpa's car Big Blue, but it just never worked out (can't understand why). My cousin's office manager Connie figured I would need assistance being my first case and all, so she introduced me to Ranger. I can't even say his name without turning into a puddle on the floor… he is tall and solid, skin the color of a caramel mocha latte that I could drink all day…in the end I got Morelli (even after he handcuffed me naked to my shower rod), proved his innocence on the crime he supposedly committed, AND found a "friend" in the process. A friend who was definitely NOT hard to look at. He then introduced me to his crew, or as I call them the Merry Men of Rangeman. That's his security company, and let me tell you, a girl could combust with the amount of hotness that abounds here. Ranger , or as he's otherwise known as Ricardo Carlos Manoso , asked me to start helping his company out on some easier takedowns that required a woman's touch. So I did, and now it's been two years of working with him and his crew and I wouldn't change a thing. My part in the company is usually background research and ops like tonight. We have a serial rapist on the loose, who enjoys picking up women at a bar in town, and even though the guys make for some really HOT guys, they wouldn't make for a very convincing woman, so here I am. Dressed to the nines, I chose a skin tight blue top that would accentuate my eyes, not to mention my other assets, a barely there skirt, 4 inch FMP's and somehow got my unruly mop of curls into a cute up do without too much of a hassle. I finished the look off with a bright shade of lipstick and about 5 layers of mascara (it's like my secret weapon, making me invincible). I gave myself one last look in the mirror and set off for the conference room where the rest of the team was waiting.

The team consists of some of the most well built, most attractive, and sweetest guys you could ever want to meet. Most served in the Army together , so they've gone through some massive stuff as a crew. As mentioned previously the boss is Ranger. I thought for a second we might actually have something at one time, but he became distant and quiet which just makes my spidey sense tingle. Tank is his second in command, or Pierre Thibidoux. Definitely don't call him anything BUT Tank. Dark skinned and built like the size of a… well… Tank , he's actually one of the scarier, more intimidating men, at least he was when I first was introduced to him. Now? He's like a big teddy bear to me, but still scary as shit to people that cross his path. Then there's Lester Santos, Rangers cousin. Smarmy but not in a bad way, Les exudes sex appeal. Deep green eyes and the same shade of mocha caramel latte skin as Ranger. He never is at a loss for words… he's always hitting on me, but it's sort of cute. Robert Brown, or Bobby, is their team medic. And boy do they need it. I thought I got into trouble, these guys have been shot at, stabbed, and generally maimed more times than I can count in the two years I've known them. Bobby is probably my favorite out of the core team, mainly because we see each other quite a bit. Did I mention I get hurt a lot? I'm kind of accident prone. Bobby always keeps a stash of lollipops for me in his exam room, which is probably the sweetest (no pun intended) thing anyone has ever done for me. Knowing how I get when I haven't had any sugar, the men try to avoid seeing that side of me come out. The rest of the core team are Ram, Hector, Cal, Hal , Hank and Rodriguez (who seems to be invisible because I've never met him). As I walk in I hear the chatting cease and the men shifting in their chairs. _Yup Steph ya still got it._

I hear Ranger clear his throat as he stands and walks over to me. "Babe." Oh yes, the patented nickname. It can mean so many things depending on his mood. _You're aggravating me._ Or _you're being ridiculous._ Or _you look amazing_ (tonight's version). Or my personal favorite _forget everything and everyone and take me here and now._ I haven't heard that version of it for awhile.

"So, is this the look you were going for?" I give him a wide grin as I hear the men muttering responses that I'm sure would make me blush if I wasn't used to them. Being around them for 2 years has made me realize I can't get all girly every time they compliment me, although it definitely is nice for my ego.

Lester jumped up, ignored his cousins glare, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Beautiful, you are… just… wow." Lester always had a comment to make when it came to distraction ops, so the fact he was sputtering told me a lot.

I had to laugh, causing my curls to bounce. "Oh Lester, you know just what to say to a girl don't you?"

"Shall we go over the protocol one more time?" Bobby stood and pointed to his seat so I could sit down. I slipped out of Lester's grip and came around the table to take a seat, giving him a kiss on the cheek before doing so. He smiled at me with a 200 watt smile "You look beautiful Bomber." Again with the nicknames. As I mentioned I have a reputation of attracting mayhem whenever I go... seriously it's like that guy from the commercials follows me around. That includes but is not limited to fire bombs(hence my nickname )of my vehicles and residences. It gets pretty annoying after awhile, and if I wasn't working for Ranger I probably would have to rob a bank to afford my insurance premiums. A lot of the men call me Bomber , Lester calls me beautiful, and Tank calls me little girl. It's cute, normally I would get aggravated at the pet names but this is just their way of making me feel like part of the crew.

"Ron Bowman, 29… graduate of Princeton college, frat boy extraordinaire and serial rapist. He has money which is why he hasn't been convicted of anything yet, and always gets bonded out. Tonight we change that. His last victim died as a result of her injuries, and he will most definitely being going back to jail." The men clenched their jaws as I checked their faces. These may be scary ass guys, capable of killing a man with one finger but they HATED violence against women. Abhorred it really, and would do anything to make sure it didn't happen. They all had sisters, cousins, mothers, grandmother's…they were good men with good hearts. Which is why I loved every single one of them. "Stephanie?" I shook my head and blushed.

"Sorry what?" Ranger was looking at me with the whole "Pay attention please " look on his face.

"I was going over assignments – Ram will be the bartender, he will be serving you non alcoholic beverages but make sure you act intoxicated, the worse off the better. I'll have two men inside with you, watching. We will have two men on the back door and the rest will be out front. All you have to do is get him outside and we'll take it from there. " Ranger explained and I nodded.

"You gotcha boss man!" We all stood and headed to the club. As we pulled up and got out (well enough away so we didn't look obvious) I had to ask. "So who is the lucky son of a bitch that gets to mic me tonight?" I giggled as most of the men rushed over and gave me their best puppy dog eye routine .

"Babe." Okay so that one was the _seriously what are you doing to my men_ babe. I giggled again and shrugged. Who was I to deny these guys a moment of fun ? "Bobby, stay in the van for medical support if needed. Ram head inside through the back and get behind the bar. Hector and Hal you're my two inside support. Lester and Tank in the back. Hank, you and I are out front . Cal, mic her." I heard groans from everyone else and a soft "YES!" come from Cal.

I stood in front of Cal, who is at least 6'5 with a bald head and the COOLEST skull tattoo, and smiled sweetly at him. "Where you wanna put it?"

I heard him moan a bit and Ranger mutter his trademark "Babe."

"What? I'm just asking." I waited til Rangers back was turned before sticking my tongue out at him.

"Babe." Oh that's the _I saw that, and I'm not impressed_ babe. Damn. The man has super vision or something I swear. I turned back to Cal who was completely red , holding the microphone in his hand. I pulled my top up so Cal can place the microphone low enough it won't be seen. He tapes it on quickly, his fingers brushing the underside of my breast which made me giggle. He withdrew his hand like a snake had bit it. "Sorry Cal, I'm ticklish." I lowered my shirt and he hands me the earpiece, which I quickly put in, and Cal jumps in the van so I can test it. "One two three is this thing on?" I whisper and hear an affirmative back in my earpiece .

Ranger pulls me aside to give me another quick reminder of how the night is supposed to go, like I haven't done these a million times before. Drink, pretend to get wasted, let murdery rapist guy think he's getting some, boom and done. It's all second nature at this point. "Ranger I've got it. Trust me." I throw him a wink and head inside.

As I enter I quickly spot my backups. Technically they aren't supposed to make a move at all unless something drastic goes down , but it's nice to know they're there if I need them. Hector Ramirez, Hispanic ex gang member with the teardrop tattoos to prove how bad ass he is. For some unknown reason the men seem to thing he's gay, but I know otherwise . He helps me train on how to do takedowns , and since I've had him pressed up against me during our training I know he is definitely NOT gay. That and the talks we have during our sessions when no one else is around. The team seems to think he only speaks Spanish, but in reality be speaks perfect English, he just chooses not to with anyone but me. He's also helping me learn some phrases in Spanish, like _florecita_ , which means little flower. It's happens to be what he calls me.

His partner inside is Hal. Hal is like… A Ken doll, if Ken was 6'4 and could bench 350 lbs. He has dirty blond hair in a buzz cut, and looks like he came straight out of the military. Hal was my first partner of the group, and he never once complained , not even when he got shot twice while helping me with a skip. I had to stay with him in the hospital, I mean he took bullets for me! The hospital we frequent basically gave up trying to keep me out of the guys rooms when they were there. It was sort of understood that I would always stay with them so they weren't alone. Since I had started at Rangeman, none of the men have had girlfriends. I don't know if it's the danger of the job, or the fact they could get called out and be "off the grid " for an undetermined amount of time(most are still under contract with the government)… so I told Ranger from that first hospital trip I would be the one to stay with whoever was injured. He put up a little fight at first but quickly backed down.

After I located my two friends on the inside I slid up to the bar and gave a warm smile to the bartender. Ram (Or Michael Ramsey) looks like he came straight out off one of those cheesy romance novel covers about a cowboy. Tall, blond, built like a brick house with the most gorgeous blue grey eyes I've ever seen, Ram has never said a bad word about anyone or anything. I would swear he is some sort of saint… except I know what he did in the military. As the group's sniper he has an eye like an eagle, and has saved me from more than one exploding car since I started working at Rangeman. For some reason he thinks I'm angel, even though he does all the saving in the relationship.

"Hello pretty lady, what can I get you?" he tilts his head slightly to my left indicating the target is sitting there.

"Gin and tonic with a twist of lime please." Code for seltzer water and lime. He grins at me and places the glass in front of me, and I start to sip. After about an hour and two more drinks out of my peripheral vision I see Bowman making his way towards me and I fight the urge to just kick him where the sun don't shine immediately . I take a deep breath and steady myself.

"Hi there gorgeous. What's your name?" _Bleh_.

"Hey yourself. I'm Cindy." I throw him my sexpot smile and I see Rams' mouth turn up at the corners, before he turns away.

"I don't think I've seen you here before… can I buy you a drink ?"

I nod and smile flirtatiously "Most definitely." _Double bleh_.

He orders straight tequila shots , thankfully Ram supplements mine with water. As we shoot down shot after shot he becomes more handsy. I can hear the men in my earpiece basically growling like possessed animals of some sort (my inside guys must being giving them the play by play somehow).

"How about we go back to my place ?" _Jesus finally_. "I live right around the corner." Bowman looks me up and down, placing his hand on my thigh. I had to control the urge to grab his hand and break a finger.

"Ohhh yes pleassseee… " Drunk Cindy draws out her sentences. "That sounds heavenly." I stand up and reach down to get my bag and I can hear the groaning in my earpiece from Hector and Hal.

" _Oh Dios mío_." I hear Hector mutter " _su falda_ "… (Oh my god… her skirt).

I had totally forgotten the skirt barely covered my ass, and when I got up and bent down to grab my purse I just gave the two of them, along with any other bar patrons that happened to be looking my way, a good show of what I had on underneath. These outfits get shorter on each op I swear. I straightened back up and grinned at my soon to be captured buddy "Let's goooo!"

He slung his arm around my waist and we walked to the front door. As he pushes it open I "stumble" forward, causing him to try and help catch me. When I turn around I give him a big grin and lean in close, whispering in his ear "I'm a bond enforcement officer, and you are in violation of your bond." He barely has time to register my words before Ranger and Hank are there to help secure him, leading him off to parts unknown. I can hear him yelling at me "You stupid bitch! You have no idea what you've done!!"

I roll my eyes in very a "Stephanie Plum" manner. "Yeah yeah, that's what they all say. " I reply to his retreating form. The sliding door to the surveillance van is open and there's sweet Cal waiting for my microphone and earpiece. I save him the embarrassment of another possible brush with my boob and take the mic off myself , handing it to him as I hear someone from behind me.

"Damn beautiful, I would have done that for you since Cal is too chicken shit."

I turn around and grin at Lester as the rest of our crew come out and join in a big circle . "I should have known you would volunteer Les. You sure you could handle it?" I winked and dashed off before he could catch me, right into Bobby's arms.

"Hey Bomber. Great job tonight… this guy bothering you?" Bobby laughed and switched into "bouncer" mode since no doctoring needed done . I just giggled and hid behind him, sticking my tounge out at Les.

"Babe." And there's the _quit distracting my men and get in the van_ babe. Ranger dismissed us back to Rangeman , as he and Hank took the creep to the police station. I hop into the SUV , grinning and waiting for my Merry Men to get done messing with each other so we can go home.


	2. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 2

A/N: Holy cow y'all!! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites!! As a reminder: I own no one, except the characters I make up. I also don't know all the characters true names, backgrounds or appearances so I'm making those up too. Enjoy!!

Chapter 2

Stephanie POV

 _Home_. We arrive back at Rangeman pretty late. All I want to do is wash away any trace of that jerk from my body, slip into some comfy pjs, check on Rex and go to sleep. I moved into the empty apartment on 4 a few months back when, surprise surprise, my apartment building blew up. It **really** wasn't my fault this time. There was a gas leak and thankfully all the tenants got evacuated before it went up in flames. So it was either move back to the 'Burg with my folks, or move into Rangeman. I chose the option with the hunky men wandering around at all hours. I have been taking a LOT of showers since moving in…

Chambersburg New Jersey or "The 'Burg" as it's affectionately named , is a small piece of South Trenton. Home to Italian restaurants and mobsters, as well as a hotbed of gossiping Gertie's, I try to avoid it whenever I can. Unfortunately I have a standing invite to Sunday dinner at my folks house. My mom Helen is a retired school teacher, who loves to lament about my "wasted years" working for that "thug" and why can't I just settle down with Joe and start popping out babies?? My father , Frank , works for the cab company. He's always been supportive of my choices, just not very supportive when it comes to backing me up when my mother is berating me about them. And then there's Grandma Mazur. I could write a book about her all on her own, so we'll leave her til later.

That brings us to Joe. As previously mentioned we had dated in high school, and he did the whole "wham bam thank you ma'am " when I was 16 behind the éclair case at the Tasty Pastry. He also wrote all about it in every gross bathroom stall he could visit before leaving the next day for the Navy. I can't imagine why I don't want to settle down with him, can you ? Mom thinks me running him over with the car three years later when he came back to town should be good enough payback for the shit he put me through… and I really did try to move on. We dated, on and off , for a few years before I started working for Ranger. After that? I couldn't keep up the charade anymore. I knew I would never be happy with him, and broke it off permanently. He was none too thrilled when he found out who I was working for, but couldn't really put up much of a fight.

I slipped in to the apartment and didn't bother locking the door. The whole building is a security fortress, no one was making it up here unless they had clearance . I made my way to the bathroom so I could wash away any trace of the night, peeling off clothes on my way when I heard a knock. Switching directions I went back to the door and opened it to find Bobby standing there. "Bomber I…" his face flushed as he saw me "Oh , I'm interrupting something…" I looked down and realized I had taken off my shirt and skirt before he had knocked so I was down to my under garments.

"I was just about to jump in the shower Bobby what's up?" I stepped aside so he could come in, but he didn't move. I waved him in and he still didn't step forward so I just grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him. He stared at me, eyes dark. I could tell he was… uncomfortable? Turned on? I wasn't really sure which so I rolled my eyes and padded off to the bedroom, pulling on a robe and coming back out to him. "Better?"

His eyes cleared back up and he nodded. "Sorry Bomber, I was just…uh…. I came to ask if you had any plans this weekend?"

I stood with my hand on my hip and head cocked. "You had to ask me that at…" I glanced at the clock " 1 am? Why, is it a Merry men weekend?" Sometimes we have what I like to call "team building outings". The boys like dragging me around to places Ranger would never set foot in, like paintball, movie screenings, bowling, or my favorite, paint and sip. You haven't lived until you've seen 10 huge ass men hunched over canvases trying follow the directions of someone NOT in the military, all while drinking wine.

"Um, no… I was wondering… well…" Okay this wasn't my Bobby. He had been replaced by some strange pod person. My Bobby was confident, and while he didn't scream sex god like Lester, he still could put together a sentence when speaking to me. I went ahead and put him out of his misery.

"Bobby are you asking me out on a date?" I took my hand off my hip and placed it on his arm, running my fingers softly over his caramel skin. I looked straight into his deep brown eyes that reminded me of pools of chocolate. He nodded, and turned a bit red, as red as anyone of his complexion could get. I slid closer to him, pulling his arm so that it wrapped around me, taking the other one and doing the same thing . "I would love that. Just tell me a date and time and I'll be ready." I could tell he was relieved , I felt the tension pour out of him when I spoke. After the initial shock he seemed to gather his senses back because me pulled me closer and leaned in, kissing my forehead.

"Thanks Bomber. I've been wanting to do that for awhile , just haven't had the courage."

I laid my head against his chest and grinned , I could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. "I can't wait Bobby." After a moment of us just standing there holding each other he lets me go with another kiss, this time on the cheek and headed out. Bobby is nothing but a gentleman, so it didn't surprise me he didn't even attempt to make a move. I shut the door and head off to the bathroom.

Bobby's POV

I stood outside Stephanie's door thinking to myself _what in the hell are you doing man? It's 1 am. She's probably asleep._ But it didn't stop me from knocking. When she answered the door I immediately started "Bomber I…" and then I actually saw her. "Oh , I'm interrupting something…" She was in nothing but a bra and panties, and my mind basically jumped into outer space. I couldn't think, let alone speak. I stood there staring at her, trying not to give away how completely turned on I was. Stephanie Michelle Plum was the best thing that ever happened to us at Rangeman. Not just because she was a woman, and we were definitely lacking around here when it came to the female persuasion, but because of who she was in her core. She never treated us like we were scary, or menacing ,and let me tell you there are some massively scary guys that work in our company. She calls us on our shit, and is **the** hottest BEA I've ever met. Sure she flat out sucked when she started with us (she would most definitely agree), but after a solid year and a half of training with each of us, she's gotten really good. She pulled me into her apartment and I tried to clear my head , she had been talking to me and I was off in lala land. She walked off to her bedroom and came back a few seconds later with a robe on.

"Better?" she stood in front of me , somewhat clothed now. At least I could concentrate a bit more.

"Sorry Bomber, I was just…uh…. I came to ask if you had any plans this weekend?"

She stood with her hand on her hip and head cocked, in a very Stephanie way. "You had to ask me that at…" she glanced at the clock " 1 am? Why, is it a Merry men weekend?"

Our group weekends are the best. We all hang out doing fun activities that boss would never partake in. And while I've known Ricardo Manoso for forever, I would never call him a fun guy. "Um, no… I was wondering… well…" what the hell was wrong with me? Yes the woman in front of me was an angel sent from heaven to torment my dreams but dammit she was still a woman, and I can talk to women! We've talked plenty of times before when I was fixing her up after a rough skip. I even hide a stash of lollipops in my medical bag for her because she's addicted to sugar. I guess she could sense my nervousness , although who couldn't I was acting like a fool, because she got closer to me and ran her fingers over my arm. "Bobby are you asking me out on a date?" When I nodded she pulled my arm so that it wrapped around her, taking the other one and doing the same thing . "I would love that. Just tell me a date and time and I'll be ready." I was so relieved, I practically melted on the floor. I pulled her closer and leaned in, kissing her forehead.

"Thanks Bomber. I've been wanting to do that for awhile , just haven't had the courage."

She laid her head against my chest and grinned , I'm sure she could hear my heart racing. "I can't wait Bobby." After a minute of us just standing there holding each other I let her go with another kiss, this time on the cheek and headed out. After she shut the door I leaned against it for a second, trying to stop my heart from beating out of my chest. _She actually said yes!!_

Stephanie POV

After Bobby left I retreated to the bathroom to actually get my shower. Turning on the water as hot as I could stand, I finished stripping off the clothes I had left and stepped in. As the water rained down on me I smiled to myself , a date with Bobby would be fun. We click, have since I started at Rangeman. I grab my body wash and start to scrub as I think back to where that creep Bowman had touched me. The scent was very specific, Bvlgari Au de Vert ,my favorite, and Ella makes sure to keep my supply stocked. I washed my hair quickly and went to grab the towel I had left next to the shower, but I couldn't find it. _That's weird I left it right here._ So I opened up the shower curtain and yelped.

"Jesus Mary and Joseph Ranger! You almost gave me a heart attack! What the hell are you doing here ?? And where's my towel!" I tried to cover myself as best as I could behind the curtain as he just gave me that shit eating smirk he seems to show me… a lot.

"Babe. What have I told you about locking that shit up?"

When we had first met and were trying to track down Morelli, I ended up getting handcuffed to my shower rod naked, by said jerk. Ranger came and rescued me, but gave me that lovely parting piece of wisdom. "Oh shit, I forgot to lock the front door!"

Ranger just gave me that same smirk. It's not like it would have mattered, all these guys know how to pick a lock, and Ranger has picked my door locks more than anyone, ever. "WHATEVER just hand me my towel please!"

He grabbed the towel he had pilfered from the spot I had left it and handed it to me. I snatched it from his hands "What are you doing here Ranger?" I wrapped the towel around me stepping out of the shower, and I could practically hear his pants getting tighter as I did. "You don't have the right to just waltz in here you know. You gave up that right months ago." I stalked past him into my bedroom, and he followed.

"Babe." _Ugh, this man and his damn one word answers._

"No, I mean it Ranger. It's 1:30 in the morning , what are you doing here?" I started pulling out my pjs so I could change. I waited for him to turn around but he just stood there, arms crossed and not moving so I just went ahead and dropped my towel and started getting dressed. I could hear him make a noise , something in between a growl and a moan. I ignored him and pulled on the tank top and shorts, then turned around and glared at him. He finally sighed and started talking.

"I want us to be okay… with everything that went down between us, it feels like you're mad at me."

 _Wow. I got a whole sentence from him! Praise God for small miracles_. "No Ranger, I'm not mad, not really . Just, disappointed is all. But that doesn't change the fact that you're in my apartment without asking me first, and basically held my towel hostage. Why?" then it dawned on me. "Are you watching the feeds tonight?" I knew I had guessed right when he actually blushed a bit and dropped his head. "You saw Bobby come to see me didn't you? And what? You wanted to try and get information out of me?" I could hear my voice start to raise a bit and realized I hadn't had any sugar in a few hours. I padded off to the kitchen to find my stash of TastyKakes before I started throwing things, with Ranger tailing close behind. I dug through the cupboard and found one left of my favorite , the peanut butter KandyKakes. Ripping it open I sunk my teeth into it and moaned, loudly. I heard Ranger shuffle next to me. "What, you know I love food." I finish it quickly and discard the trash. "I need to go to bed Ranger, I have training with Les at 0700. Can this wait til later tomorrow or something?"

"Babe. I just…"

"You know what ? I'll make it easy on you. Bobby asked me out and I said yes. There ya go. I'm sure you can see yourself out, right?" I stomp back to the bedroom, turn off the light and slip under the covers, waiting to see if he follows me.

He doesn't. I hear the front door open and shut a few seconds later, and I can feel the tears I didn't even know were forming start to run down my cheeks.


	3. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 3

A/N: Hello friends and welcome to chapter 3! Thank you SO MUCH for all the love!!!

Stephanie POV

The alarm started buzzing at 6:15 , giving me enough time to take care of bathroom business, down some breakfast, and load up on coffee before meeting Lester downstairs for my hand to hand training at 7:00. As it was making that horrible racket I laid there for a second, staring at the ceiling. I had gotten maybe 2 hours sleep, between Rangers visit and the nightmares I had because of it, I couldn't rest. Finally I got up, turning off the alarm and quickly got dressed. After using the bathroom, I wandered out to the kitchen and made myself some toast and coffee before dropping some cheerios in for Rex and heading downstairs to the gym.

 **SMACK**. I laid staring up at the ceiling again , this time because Lester had just flipped me over. It stung but I wasn't about to at him know that.

"Damn beautiful, you are really off your game this morning. " I see Lester standing next to me, peering down. He held out his hand to help me up . "Not enough sleep? No offense Steph but you look like shit."

I take his hand and he pulls me up to a standing position. "So , not so beautiful then huh?" I rub my hands over my face. "Can we take five Les? I'm tired of getting the wind knocked out of me." We walk over to the bench on the edge of the room and sit.

"What's going on?" Lester can be sweet and caring at times, it evens out his personality between the snarkiness and smarmy parts .

I debated telling him. Lester and Ranger are family, but I knew if I didn't he would hear about it through the Merry Men grapevine anyway, better to just tell him myself. "Ranger came by this morning while I was in the shower. He hijacked my towel and wouldn't leave, said he wanted to make sure we were okay after everything that went down. That was just an excuse though, he had been watching the feeds and saw Bobby had come by a few minutes earlier and he wanted to know why." I took a long drink from my water bottle before continuing. "Bobby asked me out this weekend… on a date." I waited to see if Lester would respond and when I looked over at him I saw conflicting emotions on his face. "Hey what's this look for ?" I gently poked him in his shoulder.

He made a noise deep down in his chest. "Well, first off… it's about damn time Brown stepped up and asked you out. That man has been pining over you for years. I was about to tell him if he didn't take the chance he lost out and I was gonna do it." That made me grin and flush red. "Second, what the hell is wrong with my cousin ?? Stupid _cabrón_. (Asshole). What was he thinking??"

"I don't know Les, you'll have to ask him."

"Oh, I intend to." I heard Lester do that half growl, under his breath muttering thing that the men excelled at. "Listen beautiful why don't you go back upstairs and get some rest. You're no good to me like this. I can't teach you anything when you can barely stand on your own two feet."

I sighed. He was right, training this way was dangerous, but I also didn't want Rangers antics to ruin my day. "You sure Les?" I was already up and halfway out the door hoping he didn't change his mind.

He laughed and grabbed me, pulling me into a tight hug. "Of course. We'll pick it up later. Get some sleep."

I laid my head on his chest and squeezed him around his middle as tight as I could. "Thanks Lester, I appreciate it." I felt him kiss the top of my head and he smacked me on the ass as I was leaving- there was the Lester I knew. I was so tired I didn't even respond to him, just walked out of the gym and tried to make it to the elevators without dropping. I ended up running straight into Ranger, of course. And when I mean run into him…I bounced off him like a quarter into a shot glass and fell straight backwards. Lester came out of the gym at the same time I fell, because falling in front of Ranger wasn't embarrassing enough.

"Babe – You okay?" to his credit Ranger held out his hand towards me to help me up, and I just stared at it from my position on the floor. I could feel Lester come up behind me, he picked me up under my arms and hauled me to my feet.

"Stephanie, go. " Oh damn, Lester is pissed. He never and I mean NEVER calls me by my full first name. "Ricardo, we need to talk." Oh… my inner child was jumping around taunting "Oooooo Ranger is in trouuuubllleeeee!"

I turned and gave Lester a kiss on the cheek, nodded to Ranger and walked away. I could hear the siren song of my bed calling to me, and I was ready to answer it.

Ranger POV

I knew showing up in her apartment this morning was a bad idea… I knew waiting in the bathroom for her was one too, but I hadn't seen Steph dressed the way she had been last night in a very long time, and it affected me. I miss her, but I get it. I screwed up. We were doing pretty great for awhile… I had convinced her to work for Rangeman more doing research and helping out on large skips more than she was working at her stupid cousins shop so I could keep an eye out on her. All the feelings towards each other finally collaborated in to one amazing… no, that's not the right word. Breathtaking? Shit it was the best sex I had ever had. I saw myself getting married to her, and us having little Cuban, spunky, curly haired babies together… which is when I had my moment I call Rangers idiotic epiphany . Usually an epiphany is a good thing… maybe freak out is the better term. Basically I realized I was in too deep with her and shoved her back towards her no good ex Morelli. I know, I said it was idiotic. She was pissed, of course, she had every right to be. And even though I wanted her more than anything in the world, distractions cost people like me my life, and that's how I saw her. A distraction. So I shoved her away, but not far enough that she wasn't still around from time to time. The men all loved her, I knew at least half if not all of them were **IN** love with her, so they hadn't reacted very well when I sent her back to Morelli. In fact, I think I took every core member to the mats multiple times in that first week because of their attitudes towards me. Again, I understood, but it's the principle.

Then her apartment building went up in flames, and I offered her the empty apartment on 4. Thankfully she didn't put up a fight. The men were thrilled (some a little too much) with the prospect of having her here permanently. Which brings us to last night. She called me on my shit when I showed up, knowing I had been watching the feeds for the building, and of course she was right. It's my building, I need to make sure it's secure. When I saw Brown come to visit her at 1 am I was intrigued. When I saw her answer the door in nothing but her bra and panties I was pissed (and turned on.) Then she pulled him in to the apartment and shut the door, and my mind went into hyperdrive. I didn't want to raise suspicion by asking Hector for audio, so I just watched. And watched. And finally he came back out, I noticed she had put a robe on, and he had a shit eating grin on his face. No, scratch that. Actually he just looked really happy. I sighed and told myself DON'T GO DOWN THERE RANGER. But my feet didn't listen. Or they just flat out ignored me… either way that's how I found myself in her apartment at 1:30 am, making the excuse I just wanted to make sure we were okay, but Steph is observant. She knew right away why I was there, and when she told me Brown had asked her out my heart sank a bit. I did this – I pushed her out of my bed straight into the arms of my men.

Joseph Morelli is a mediocre cop, and an even worse boyfriend. I knew things were over between him and Steph before she started working for us on a more consistent basis, but it didn't stop me from telling her that's who she should be with. Yeah I've heard all the names my men have called me because of it. _Idiota , Estúpido , el hijo de perra, pendejo_ all versions of me being an idiot or asshole. I actually took off to Miami to visit my daughter for a week to give everyone some distance. I was on my way to the gym to talk to her about everything when she ran straight into me and bounced off, landing on the floor. I leaned down and offered her my hand "Babe- you okay?"

She sat there staring at me. At first I thought she didn't hear me, but then my cousin came up from behind her, lifting her up and sending her on her way. Before she left he commented "Ricardo, we need to talk." I swore I saw her grin. Then she disappeared into the elevators after giving Les a kiss on the cheek and nodding to me, and he turned towards me, eyes blazing.

"I take it she told you I came to visit this morning." I moved around him and walked into the gym to start my routine, might as well get it in while I'm down here. I didn't even bother to correct Les about using my real name in front of Stephanie. He was pissed, and she looked like hell, entirely my fault.

I could hear Lester come up behind me. " **What. The. FUCK RANGER?!** What were you thinking? Watching her on the feed and trying to get information out of her? This is Stephanie we're talking about, not a target. You shouldn't be treating her this way!" I let him rant because, let's face it, he was right. "And being in her bathroom while she was in the shower?? What gives you that right _pendajo_? You pushed her away months ago, what are you doing??"

I had been running on the treadmill while he was laying all my mistakes out for me like a road map, so I stopped and hopped off , turning to stare at him. "I get it Lester. I fucked up. Massively. You really think I don't know that? I'm trying to make it better, I am. I just… I needed to see her. After last night, I just…" it was stupid, I couldn't even finish the thought.

"You miss her?" Lester finally stopped berating me and stood there , his glare still prevalent.

I nodded. "When I saw Bobby to go her front door, I felt my heart breaking . I couldn't hear anything but from his expression when he left I knew he had asked her out… I just… needed to hear it from her." And although I would never say it out loud, I needed to see her naked again. Best sex ever, remember?

Lester jumped at me like a coiled snake , it took me by surprise and I landed backwards on to the mats. " **SO WHAT! YOU** screwed this up Ric! Not Bobby, not me, not any of us and **DEFINITELY NOT** Stephanie! She deserves to be happy! And you need to stop making her sad!!!" We wrestled around after my initial shock wore off and I didn't even fight back. He was right, I just keep messing things up. After he realized I wasn't moving he stopped and stared down at me. "Let her be happy Ric. And let her come to you if she wants to talk, otherwise you're just going to keep pushing her farther and farther away. " he jumped up and held out his hand, helping me up. He walked out and I went back to running in silence.


	4. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 4

A/N: again , loving the love you all are giving this story!! Don't count Ranger out yet… Steph is hurt and rightfully so, but that doesn't mean he won't ever get back in her good graces.

Chapter 4

Stephanie POV

I barely made it back to my apartment before crashing. I knew Les would fill me in later on the tongue(and any other) lashing that he gave Ranger, he was good that way. All the guys were. They didn't keep things from me unless they absolutely had to, which was the biggest problem between me and Ranger. After we had the best night of sex in my entire life, something changed with him. He got distant and even more closed off than he normally is, and then he told me I should go back to Morelli. That hurt.

Joseph Morelli. We hadn't been together since I started working with Rangeman in a more full time manner, yet here I was being shoved at him like a second place trophy. I wanted to quit Rangeman. I actually had walked out with every intention of never going back except the boys tracked me down after a week of being incommunicado and begged me not to. Ranger had actually slunk (slinked?) off to Miami for a week to visit his daughter Julie, and they couldn't stand being there without me. I have to admit it was nice for my self esteem which had taken a massive hit when Ranger kicked me out of bed and towards Joe…so I agreed. When Ranger came back we fell into the typical routine we had previously, minus the sexual activity. All the guys became extremely overprotective. I was never alone with Ranger for more than a few seconds, so we didn't really get to talk things out at all. I guess that's why I'm still so hurt. I should probably eventually do that, just for my own piece of mind.

I shuffled back into my apartment, doing a finger wave at Rex who was wiggling his nose at me , and headed to the bedroom. I didn't even bother showering or changing . I flopped down on the bed, burrowed my way under the covers and promptly fell asleep.

Lester POV

After I took Ranger to the mat and gave him a piece of my mind I wanted to check on Stephanie and make sure she got to bed okay, but also knew she needed to be independent. So instead I ran down to the infirmary to speak to Bobby.

Robert Brown is a fantastic man, but I'll take anyone to the mat that says I said so out loud. He evens our team out, a mix between strength and kindness, he was our team medic when we were overseas doing our best to stay alive. He's patched each of us at least a dozen times over the years, and has taken care of Stephanie ever since she arrived here. She attracts trouble like a moth to a flame, so she has spent more time with Bobby than all of us combined, and right from the start I could tell he liked her. No, like isn't a strong enough word but… you get the picture.

"Hey Bobby." I push open the doors and see him counting medical supplies.

"Hey Les, you get hurt during training?" he stood up and walked over to me, his eyes scanning for injuries.

I had to laugh, always the medic. "No I came to talk to you about beautiful. She was a wreck today in training , I sent her back to the apartment to sleep." His eyes got wide with concern . "She told me you finally asked her out and man, it's about damn time!"

He blushed a bit. "Yeah, we are going on a date this weekend. Wait, that's not why she was a wreck is it?"

I shook my head "No, it's because that _pendajo_ cousin of mine came to see her after you left. He ambushed her while she was in the shower and wouldn't leave her alone til she told him you had come to ask her out. I swear I could kill him if I wouldn't be excommunicated from the family for doing it." I heard a low growl coming from Bobby and when I turned towards him I could see his temper flaring. "Woah man, calm down. She's okay, she just didn't sleep well. So I sent her back upstairs to get some more rest before her firearm training later." I quickly changed subjects "So where are you taking her?"

His face and demeanor softened a bit. "I was thinking NYC. She likes shopping and Broadway shows, I thought maybe we could spend Saturday in the city." He stopped suddenly when he saw my face. "What? Bad idea?"

I wanted to grab him by his shoulders and shake him. "No! That's a fantastic idea!!" I clapped him hard on the back "Treat her right man, or you will have me to answer to." We laughed knowing he would be nothing but sweet to her.

Stephanie POV

I woke up a few hours later actually feeling decent. For once no bad dreams flooded my brain. I got up and quickly got a shower. Then I got redressed in jeans , a white vneck shirt and tennis shoes, no need for gym clothes for the rest of my day. I had firearms training in a little bit with Ram so I made myself a peanut butter and olive sandwich , fed Rex some olives and ran out the door down to the gun range.

As I walked into the range I noticed most of the stalls were full with team members , which struck me as odd considering I usually was alone during training. Ram saw me come in and waved. "Hey Angel! You have an audience today, some of the men needed to brush up on their skills."

I gave a sideways glance at him. "It looks like they don't need any practice to me." As I see target after target come back with perfect center mass shots.

He shrugged and escorted me over to my stall, handing me my favorite Smith Wesson Model 637. It's lightweight , and to be honest, pretty cute for a side arm. I haven't had the need to use a gun a lot, but it's nice knowing I have one and I can actually operate it. He sets the cans on my ears , watching as I load it. He places his hands on my hips and sets me straight, then my arms to show me exactly how to stand. He steps back and I fire 6 shots. As I set the gun down and take the cans off my ears he brings the target up to us and I see it. Two shots in the head, two center mass, one in the heart and one… I hear all the men groan as I laugh to myself. The last bullet hit Mr. Target right in the junk.

"Got something you wanna talk about there Angel?" Ram chuckled and set a new target as I reloaded my gun.

"No, I'm good Ram thanks." I grinned at him and started firing again, this time I split it half and half between my targets nether region and his head. By that time all of my audience has scattered leaving me alone with my instructor.

"I see you've improved since we shot last. You're doing really well Angel. Maybe just hold the temper in check a bit, that could cost you in the field." Ram patted me on the shoulder and motioned for me to sit with him. I cleared my weapon and put the ear cans down before walking over and taking a seat next to him. "Seriously Steph, what's going on?"

I didn't really want to rehash my morning , not that Ram wouldn't listen or be a bad sounding board, I was just done with thinking about it. "It's fine, really. I'm fine."

He grabbed my hand and pulled it into his , running his thumb over my knuckles. "It's not Angel, anyone who just watched you shoot could see that. I won't force you to tell me, just know I'm here for you if you need me." He kissed my knuckles and got up. "You're done for the day, no need for any more practice." He took my side arm and locked it up, then left me sitting there contemplating my life.


	5. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 5

A/N: *SQUEEEE* Thank you for all the comments, follows and favorites! You guys are my most receptive fandom so far ! I'm kind of giddy about it :) So I start a brand new job tomorrow and don't know when I'll be updating next, hopefully soon! This is a shorter chapter but I thought it ended right.* edited and readded*

Chapter 5

Stephanie POV

After firearms training I make the trek up to my desk on 5 and groan when it comes into view. There are a stack of searches on my desk that could only have come from Rodriguez the ghost… I'm afraid to even check my email. I grabbed a cup of coffee from the break room, and sat down to start. Two hours in and I've worked my way through part of the stack, but am no where to being complete. My neck is unbelievably tense and my shoulders are on fire. I pull my massive curls up into a semi bun with a MacGyver type contraption of rubber bands and try and rub the tension away when I feel another set of hands on my neck. I jump in surprise but quickly recover.

"Jesus Bobby, you scared the crap out of me!" I start to scold him but then realize what he's doing. "Oh… wow…" I shut my eyes and hang my head to give him better access.

"Geeze Bomber, your neck feels like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders. And your shoulders feel even worse." He dug his thumbs into my shoulder blades, trying to work out the kinks. "Les came and talked to me earlier, said he sent you back to the apartment to rest. You feeling any better?"

I managed a moaning yes and hear him chuckle to himself as he continued to run his fingers over my tired muscles. His ministrations lasted about 10 minutes total, but it felt like 10 seconds , it **definitely** wasn't long enough. By the time he was done I am practically asleep at my desk, but also completely turned on. The man has magic fingers , that's the only explanation. When he stopped I almost fell backwards in my chair. "Wow Bobby… uh .. thank you." I attempted to get out of my chair but my legs weren't quite ready for the weight and I stumbled against him. He caught me laughing and kissed me quickly. Not the forehead or cheek action like this morning … no this took me by surprise - right on the lips and I liked it… actually I liked it a lot. I leaned into him, kissing him back. After a second we broke apart and I could see desire clouding his eyes. He shook his head and stood me back up on my feet, making sure I was steady before letting go of my arms.

"I wanted to check in, and let you know that our date is Saturday… All day , if that's okay with you?"

All day date? I was intrigued. "Of course! I'm looking forward to it. Can I ask where we're going?" I smile and give him my best doe eyes.

He grinned that thousand watt smile at me "You can, doesn't mean I'll tell you." He winked and gave me one last quick kiss before heading off to parts unknown. I sat back down, renewed and ready to continue to work.

A little while later I feel the back of my neck tingling . _Dammit, Ranger is around_. I decide now is as good as time as any to hash this shit out, so I turn off the computer and get ready to leave when I see him. Standing in the doorway of the break room, he's staring at me. To his credit he didn't approach me, he was just watching. I sighed and walked up to him. "Ranger."

"Babe." He was testing me… seeing if I was going to snap at him again. In all reality I was still annoyed, but I honestly didn't want to fight anymore.

"Can we have a civilized conversation where I don't throw things at you and you speak to me in more than one syllable?"

"I think I can manage that. Hungry?" At that moment my stomach rumbled, breaking the tense atmosphere and I had to giggle. "I take that as a yes." I remembered I hadn't eaten near the amount I should have for today, so I nodded and followed him. Instead of going to the car like I figured we would, Pino's was always our go to, he pushed the button in the elevator to 7.

Floor 7. Rangers personal apartment was on floor 7. I started to panic, I hadn't been up there since that fateful night. I felt his hand on mine, squeezing it tightly before letting go. "Babe. We can go to my office instead." In my panic I forgot his office was up there too.

"Oh, yeah. That's … yeah." _Good god Plum_. As we exit the elevator and make our way to his office his cell phone rang.

"Yo." Rangers typical greeting.

I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but Rangers eyes cut to me immediately. _Shit that can't be good_. He made non committal noises before hanging up and turning to me.

"That was Eddie." Eddie Gazarra, fellow 'Burg survivor and married to my cousin Shirley the whiner, is one of TPD's best cops and a dear friend of mine. He actually beat out Morelli for detective when Joe was being accused of murder and was chased my yours truly, which pissed Joe off **almost** as much as being accused of murder did. Since then he moved up even higher in the ranks , and I trusted him as much as I trusted my Rangeman guys. Whatever Eddie was calling about couldn't have been good, Ranger had an exasperated look on his face. "Our talk will have to wait, Bowman escaped."

 _What the hell?! Escaped??_

"Yes Babe." Oh damn, I did that thing again where I thought I was thinking something and I actually said it out loud. I do that a lot around Ranger and he typically just smiles at me, but tonight he had other things on his mind. He called Tank to request we all meet in the conference room to strategize, and we made our way there.

My mind was going a mile a minute. This guy was a high value target, if he escaped he definitely had help. But who would risk their freedom to help a killer? We walk in and I see most of the team assembled already, leaving the head seat open for Ranger. He takes his spot and I lean against the wall, not wanting to intrude. I catch Lester's eye, who is shooting daggers at Ranger (although he doesn't see it) and I just shake my head.

"Eddie called- Ron Bowman escaped TPD custody tonight." A round of chatter followed but stopped when Ranger held up his hand. His eyes cut to me again when he said the next part. "Joseph Morelli was shot in the process." All of Rangeman turned towards me as I gasped, pressing my hands over my mouth… then I started to see spots. Usually when that happens I'm about to pass out.

Sure enough I wake up laying on the floor staring up at a group of faces peering down at me. "Dammit, it happened again didn't it." I hear Bobby's voice coming from near the top of my head, and then I see his face come in to view.

"Give her room guys." He shooed everyone away from me as he held my head in his lap, grabbing his penlight from his medical bag . That thing goes with him everywhere pretty much. " Hey Bomber. Just lay still for me, I need to check for a concussion. None of us could grab you before you hit the ground, I'm sorry."

 _Ugh. I'm such a fricking mess_. "Bobby it's fine. " I wave him off and attempt to sit up as I'm met with a massive wave of nausea. The men can tell by my face and Lester jumped up to grab the trash can, but I make him to stop. I shake my head carefully. "No I'm okay." He holds out his hands and pulls me up slowly, then sits me down in the closest chair while Bobby kneels in front of me , shining that blessed penlight. After he's satisfied he squeezes my hand and stands up, taking the seat next to me. "I'm sorry Ranger."

He shakes his head "No reason to apologize Babe. Morelli is okay, it was a through and through but the bastard shot him with his own gun and is on the loose. Eddie wanted to make sure you were under watch at all times, apparently Bowman was running his mouth about how he was going after the bitch that set him up."

Peachy.


	6. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 6

A/N: I'm re reading my story and seeing grammatical and spelling errors that are driving me nuts. I may delete a Chapter to fix them, then re add it so if something seems weird that's why. Okay last update til who knows when! Enjoy!!

Chapter 6

Stephanie POV

I wanted to bang my head on the table, instead I just held it in my hands. Another bad guy out for revenge. _Gee I wonder how many cars will get destroyed because of me this time._

"Doesn't matter Babe. As long as you're safe."

I raise my head and look around at the men huddled around the table staring at me. "Out loud again?" and they all nod. Perfect. "I would really like to go to the hospital and see Joe, if that's okay. " Yeah he treated me like garbage, but at one time we were pretty serious about each other, and I definitely didn't wish him harm. Okay I take that back, when I ran him down with Big Blue and broke his leg in three places , I definitely wished him harm. But I was over that.

Ranger nods. "Tank, you and Lester take her. The rest of us need to get to work tracking Bowman back down." This surprised me. Usually Ranger wouldn't let me out of his sight when he knew someone was after me… maybe times are changing.

Tank, Lester and I made our way down to the garage. I could tell they didn't know what exactly to say to me, I mean here I was being threatened with bodily harm by yet another crazy . "Guys I'm okay." They stopped and turned towards me.

"You sure little girl?" Tank stood in front of me and wrapped his arms around me. I love when Tank hugs me… I live for them. You know those huge stuffed bears they sell around Valentine's day? The ones that no sane person would buy because where would you put a stuffed animal that huge? It feels like being hugged by one of those. A big teddy bear that smells like cinnamon and looks like melted chocolate, what girl wouldn't love that?? "You need to stop and get a meatball sub on our way back from the hospital?" As if on que my stomach rumbled loudly and I remembered my dinner got waylaid by Eddie's call.

I pulled back from Tanks grasp, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks big guy. Yeah that would be great." He got in the drivers seat while Lester opened the passenger door for me, then got in the back and we headed to the hospital.

As we walk in through the emergency doors I see Joe's mom Angie and Grandma Bella sitting in the waiting room. I try not to catch their eye as I make my way through to the front desk, but I hear a voice call out to me causing me to stop in my tracks.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum!" _Shit_.

"Hi Mrs. Morelli." She pulls me into a tight hug, disregarding my companions who are trying desperately not to laugh.

"You know you are supposed to call me Angie. It's so good to see you dear! Joe will be thrilled." She held my hands and squeezed. "I can take you back there right now." _Double shit._ I did not need Angie Morelli to be thinking what I'm sure she was thinking …

"No that's okay Mrs. Mor… Angie. Actually my colleges need to talk to Joe anyway, so we'll just head on back. " I slip out of her grasp and make an attempt to dash for the front desk, under the watchful glare of Grandma Bella. I'll do anything to avoid that woman like the Plague. She put a hex on me once… the evil eye as she called it, and I do **NOT** want that experience again.

"Hi, Stephanie Plum here to see Detective Joseph Morelli." The nurse at the desk just stares at my bodyguards, causing me to roll my eyes so hard I'm surprised I didn't sprain them. _Yup they're hot, and they know it…_ It starts to get a little annoying when she doesn't respond to me. "Um… hello?" I wave my hand in front of her face and that seems to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

"Room 215. But, it's past visiting hours…"

"I'm an old friend of Detective Morelli's, and we are working on his case so if we could just get 10 minutes ?"

"Oh! You're with the police ?? Of course head on back." I didn't even bother to correct the poor girl, she was so flustered and flushed that I just went with it. We made our way to Joe's room, and I stepped inside while Tank and Lester waited in the hallway for me.

As I approached the bed, tears sprang to my eyes. I knew he was going to be okay , but _God he looks like shit._

"Cupcake?" Joe opened his eyes, smiling when he saw me standing next to him. "You gotta work on that whole saying your thoughts out loud thing." He reached out his hand and I grabbed it.

"And you gotta work on staying out of the line of fire." I reply. "What the hell happened?" I sat down in the chair that was placed next to the bed.

"Stupid boot that booked him in didn't do a complete body search before putting him in the holding cell. He managed to smuggle a paper clip in , un cuffed himself, so when I went in to take him to the van to go to county he fucking grabbed my gun and shot me." Boot equals a rookie cop, and it sounded like someone wasn't going to be advancing any further in their law enforcement career.

I could see he was in pain. "You want me to get a nurse?" And he shook his head.

His eyes searched the room. "Where's Manoso?"

Oh. Well this was awkward. "Um, back at the office getting a team together…" I looked down at our hands intertwined and felt ashamed, although I had no reason to be.

"He let you come here alone? That nut job is looking for you Cupcake, you need protection!" I could hear his monitors start beeping wildly and I knew I needed to calm him down before the doctors kicked me out.

"No, Tank and Lester are here with me, they're standing outside. Trust me, I'm perfectly safe. Ranger… he and I aren't…" I couldn't even say it.

"What did the fucker do Steph?" I didn't really want to rehash this drama out with him while he was laying in the hospital from a gunshot wound, but I knew Joe wouldn't let it go if I didn't say something .

"Nothing, we just… we aren't together like that. I work for him, that's all." I felt stupid, because I didn't even know the reason **WHY** we weren't together , just that we weren't. Joe sensed my frustration and dropped the subject.

"I just wanted to check on you , make sure you were really okay. You going to be released tomorrow?" Gun shots required a minimum 24 hour stay to watch for infections.

"Should be. Listen Cupcake… I'm sorry. About everything." Well this was different. Joe never once apologized for the choo-choo incident when I was 6, or taking my virginity at the Tasty Pastry ten years later. He didn't apologize for the trashy poems about said incident he left around town after , nor the fact he left for three years without so much as the word Boo. I mean I know he went into the Navy, but what, they don't allow you to write a letter while at sea? I felt tears springing to my eyes, as his thumb brushed over my knuckles. "Steph, I wish I could take it all back. I treated you terribly, no wonder you ran away from me. I hope some day you'll forgive me."

Well hell. Here I figured Morelli and I would never get back to a good place with each other, and then he had to go and get shot and do some major soul searching. I realized I hadn't responded when I felt him tug slightly at my hand, causing me to look into his eyes.

"Of course Joe. That's all in the past." As the words came out of my mouth I couldn't believe I was saying them. I don't think my friends could either, I heard them talking in the hallway (Merry Men are terrible whisperers). I managed a small smile at him as I get up to leave, I could tell he was getting sleepy. "I've gotta run , but I'll check in tomorrow after you're home okay?"

He nodded and I leaned over to kiss him on the forehead before turning to leave. I heard him say quietly "Thanks for caring cupcake. I love you." And I had to hurry out the door before the tears fell.


	7. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 7

A/N: Poor Steph!!

So I started a new job today (Monday) that I am SO excited about, and picked up the newest SP book yesterday(started and finished already!)… expect some more chapters ASAP!!

Chapter 7

After a quick stop at Pino's to grab (and eat)my meatball sub, I told Tank and Lester they were off babysitting duty and let myself into my apartment. Stopping first to feed Rex I sunk down into the couch and contemplated life. This whole "Stephanie in danger" shtick was getting old really fast. I had no sooner decided I was going to go to bed when my phone rang. Checking to make sure it wasn't my mother, I saw it was an unlisted number so I answered.

"Hello?" I was met with silence. "Hello? Is anyone there ??" I said with a more insistent tone, but still got no verbal response, although I could hear breathing coming across the line. And it wasn't the whole "perverted heavy breathing "… it was creepy and made my spidey senses tingle. I was getting angry. "Listen whoever you are. I'm not in the fucking mood okay? So if you want me, come get me you asshole!" After my rant and subsequent disconnect of the call I felt somewhat better. The phone rang again immediately and without looking at the caller ID I answered. "You heard what I said! If you want me come get me I dare you!"

"Stephanie?" Oh hell, it was my mother.

"Mom? Sorry about that, what's up?" Like I didn't know.

"Angie Morelli called me a few minutes ago, she said Joseph was hurt today, and that you went to visit. So is it true?" My mom was exhausting.

"Yes, Joe was shot and he's in the hospital. Yes I went to visit. Anything else ?"

"So you're getting back together? Are you finally moving out of that scary man's apartment?"

I took a deep breath and let out a long drawn out sigh. Ranger would be getting a kick out of this conversation. Usually my mom calls him a thug, he's now graduated to scary man. "First off mom, the scary man's name is Ranger. You know this. You've met him, on multiple occasions. Second, I don't live with Ranger, I live in his building. My own place, big difference." I can hear her gearing up to interrupt so I just keep on talking. "Third, I came to the hospital to see Joe because I was concerned yes, but also because the guy who shot him was one of our FTA's. I needed to know what happened. And fourth, we are not getting back together." There was no way on God's green earth I was about to reveal his parting words to me. I finally take a breath and wait for her response.

And I hear nothing. No quick witted retort, no exasperated comment. No typical Helen remark… silence. This is concerning. "Mom?"

Finally she whispers "I just want a grand baby from you, is that too much to ask?" And she hung up the phone. There ya go ladies and gents, Helen gets the last word. She never knows when to give up.

Here's something you should know about me. I have never, and I repeat NEVER thought about having kids. The whole I attract shit lifestyle isn't conducive to children. Now I won't lie, I like my nieces a whole bunch. My sister Val, the good daughter, has three kids. I saw what she went through, and I like my messed up life the way it is, sans children. Rex is enough for me to handle.

The phone call I got previous to mom's made me a bit nervous , so I decided to see if there was a way to trace it. I'm no tech expert, and I figured it was a long shot , but if anyone could trace an unlisted number it was Ranger. I check the time and know he'll be in his apartment, so I head out my door to the elevator and hit the button to go up. As the elevator doors open I end up being face to face with Bobby.

He didn't even say anything, just opened his arms and I fell into them sobbing. Why is it that he's always right where I need him when I need him? I didn't even realize how much I had bottled up until I saw him. He gently guided me back to my apartment and sat with me , letting me cry. He just rubbed my back and waited until I finally calmed down before saying anything.

"Tell me… what's going through your head." I was tucked into his side as he made comforting circles between my shoulders with his hand.

I didn't know how to answer that. Between Bowman escaping, Joe getting shot, and telling me he loves me it was all too much. The crazy phone call was the straw that broke my back though. I needed a break. "I don't suppose you would want to go on that date sooner?" I looked at him through tear-filled eyes.

"You still want to go? I figured we needed to cancel." Bobby looked surprised but extremely pleased. "Of course! We can go whenever you want."

"I need to look forward to something. There's enough shit going on in my life, I need some happy."

"Well then consider it done. Pack for an overnight trip, and we will leave in the morning. " He turned me towards him and leaned down to kiss me. The moment our lips touched I felt like the whole world disappeared. I leaned in to him, and felt his hands settle on my lower back, pulling me closer. It was just what I wanted and needed. When we broke apart we sat, foreheads touching, just being near each other for a moment .

"Where were you headed when I saw you?" he broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Oh. Rangers office. " I pulled away and handed him my phone. "I got a call from an unlisted number that didn't have anyone on the other end, just some heavy breathing. I wasn't see if it could be traced, or tracked. "

He glanced at me, and I could read the anger that flashed over his face. I'm sure he was probably questioning whether he wanted to get more involved in my life.

"Steph, I'm here for the long haul. Whether we work out as a couple or stick to just being friends, I'm not leaving you." He squeezed my hand before getting up.

"Out loud huh? Bobby are you sure? I mean I am kind of a walking disaster. I totally get it…" he pulled me up and kissed me soundly, making me forget what I was saying.

"I'll take this to Ranger if you want." He said, gesturing with the phone I had handed him. Sweet man, he probably thought he could spare me some pain.

"Oh no, really it's okay. You guys have done such a fantastic job of protecting me that Ranger and I haven't actually gotten to discuss what happened, and I think we probably should, sooner rather than later. I'll take it to him, and then I'll come back and pack. "

Bobby flashed me the smile I loved. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning at 0800." He handed me back my phone and we walked to my door. "Sleep well Bomber." He kissed me again and went on his way.

I was feeling like a million bucks. Still had no idea where we were going , but at the moment I didn't care. I was getting out of Trenton overnight, and spending time with someone who really genuinely cared about me. Not when it was convenient, but all the time. I realized that was what hurt the most about Rangers rejection. It wasn't he didn't care, he did. He loved me, it was just the way he did. His love came with a condom, not a ring, it was something he told me over and over again, so it shouldn't have surprised me when he pushed me away… but I had fallen hard. Putting my brave face on I made my way back to the elevator and hit the button for 7.

Rangers POV

Stephanie has a way to know when I'm around, the back of her neck tingles. I know when she's around because my protective instinct kicks in, doesn't matter how far away she is, or what she's doing. I knew she was coming to see me, I could feel it. I opened the door and leaned in the doorway waiting for her. The elevator doors opened and there she was. "Babe."

She handed me her phone. "I got a call from an unlisted number. The person didn't say anything, there was just heavy breathing on the other end. I need you to track who called me."

I know I pride myself on being good, but even I'm not that good. "Babe." I say again. "I can't track an unlisted number once they're off the phone. Best we can do is if he calls again, try and trace it." Her face fell and I felt that protective instinct kick in. "You want to stay here tonight?" She got that look on her face, like she was over thinking things. "Just sleep babe. No funny business."

She shook her head. "Bobby and I are going out of town tomorrow, overnight."

Oh yes, the dreaded date. My heart clenched a bit but I saw how happy she looked when she mentioned it, so I forced myself to smile. "That's great Babe. Why don't you leave your phone here, and I'll see if Hector can check into it if they call again ?" She agreed.

"Can we talk when I get back? I mean... really sit down and discuss what happened between us?" she looked hopeful and I decided it was time.

"Yes. Absolutely. Come find me when you get back." She placed a kiss on my cheek and walked away. As I watched her go I smiled. Things would be okay.


	8. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 8

A/N: I can't tell you all enough HOW much I love all the feedback! :) I may not get to write to each person (I'm getting a ton of guest reviews) but holy wow do you all know how to make a girl feel special!!!

So one of my guests mentioned why did they have to talk about everything, can't they just be over it already? LOL I wish!! By nature I am a talker. My husband hates it, but I need to talk things out otherwise I get major anxiety. So I'm modeling this Stephanie after myself a bit. The fact is, she got close to Ranger who then promptly kicked her to the curb (but still wanted her close) and she has no idea why. They need to explore that a bit before I can let them move on fully. I hope that helps a bit!!

Chapter 8

Stephanie POV

After the first good night's sleep I had in a very long time, I had my overnight bag packed and was ready to head out. Since I still had no idea where we were headed I packed light. Jeans and a t-shirt for tomorrow , a semi fancy dress in case we went anywhere for dinner, and some other random pieces thrown in. Bobby came to collect me right on time , and we set off for our adventure . We had been driving for about 30 minutes making conversation when he reached behind his seat and plopped a bag in my lap.

"You're charge of the car snacks." He grinned at me as my stomach made itself known.

I started digging through the bag, excited. He had all my favorites, and not a healthy thing in sight ! I grabbed a TastyKake and bit in to it, trying to suppress a moan as he chuckled. "We have about an hour drive or so to get to our destination. Music?"

"Anything but country." I mumbled through my bite. He found a rock station and I yelped. "Oh!! This is Maroon 5! I love them. It's funny that they came on, I heard they were playing at Madison Square Garden this weekend." I handed him a stick of beef jerky (I was guessing that was for him) and sang along (badly) to the song on the radio. After a few minutes I couldn't stand it. "Okay so where are we going ? I appreciate the whole surprise thing but… I'm kind of impatient."

Bobby snorted. "What? YOU??" He winked at me and pointed to the glove box indicating I should open it.

When I did I pulled out an envelope and looked at him. "What's this?"

He just rolled his eyes at me playfully. "Open it Steph." So I did, and couldn't contain my joy.

"WE'RE GOING TO THE MAROON 5 CONCERT?!?!?!?" If he hadn't been driving I would have jumped him right there. He just laughed and pulled the car to the side of the road and putting it in park before turning to me so he could see my full reaction.

"Excited?" My face felt like it could crack I was smiling so big.

"Bobby this is amazing !" I leaned over and hugged him as best I could strapped into the seat belt. "The concert is tomorrow night though, where are we going now?"

"We're spending the next two days in New York City."

You would assume living in Trenton all my life and only being an hour and change away from the Big Apple I would have been tired of going there. The thing was, I had never been. The look on my face must have worried Bobby because he grabbed my hand to make me look him on the eyes. "Steph? Is that okay ? We don't have to share a room, I can get us two separate ones… that's not what this trip is about. I just want you go relax and have a good time…"

I couldn't take it. I unhooked my seat belt and leaned over the console between us, pulling him close. My hands wrapped around the back of his neck, fingers running through his hair as I pulled his mouth to mine. We were lost in our own world until a car horn sounded outside and we remembered where we were. I pulled back slightly but still kept my eyes locked on his. "Bobby this is the best, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. I've never been to the city, and I'm so glad I'm getting to experience it for the first time with you." I sat back in my seat, a feeling of joy washing over me.

"You've never been?" I shook my head in response. "Well then, we will definitely have to all the obnoxious touristy things… and take selfies while we do them." We both laughed and he pulled back out onto the road.

"Oh, I didn't bring my phone, I left it with Ranger, so any selfies will definitely need to be taken with yours." I held out my hand and he chuckled as he pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I leaned close to him and snapped our first "date" photo, sending it to Lester. Bobby's phone pinged almost immediately after I hit send. **Les: Heeeyyy beautiful! Hope you guys have a great time. Don't forget to bring me a souvenir! ;)**

I read the message to Bobby and then placed the phone on the console between us. He held out his right hand and I placed mine in it, interlocking our fingers, as we drove towards downtown.

6 hours later and I was exhausted. We had found our hotel, check in wasn't until 11 so we had some time to kill. We ate a proper breakfast and then walked down 5th Avenue doing some window shopping (all I could afford). When it was time to check in we made our way to the hotel again, The Andaz 5th Avenue, which had a spectacular view of the New York Public Library , and was close to Central and Bryant parks , plus the Empire State building. As we walked through the front doors of the hotel I had to remind myself not to look like a tourist, but it was difficult . The lobby was gorgeous, and when we made it to the room (single, I was NOT making him sleep in a different room) I finally allowed myself to show my emotions. The room was breathtaking, modern with clean lines and so immaculate it made Rangeman look like a wreck. I peeked in the bathroom and squealed. There was a floor to ceiling glass shower big enough for even the Rangeman guys to pile in to!

"So, what's next on the agenda?" Bobby asked as we got settled in the room and our bags put up.

I couldn't afford anything on 5th Ave. My shopping budget geared towards a little less Tiffany's and more mom and pop store. "Chinatown?" I grinned at him sheepishly. Chinatown is a densely populated neighborhood where the busy sidewalks are packed with souvenir stores and markets selling everything from fresh and dried fish to herbs and spices. It's common to hear the phrase "2 for 5 dollar!" or something similar coming from the merchants hocking their wares along the streets. It was more my speed, so we left to see what we could find.

A few hours later my feet were burning and we were loaded down with souvenirs for all Rangeman employees. My favorite find though was a pair of silver Baoding balls that I had picked up for Bobby without him knowing. They are basically small metal stress balls, that you hold in one hand and roll around (hard to explain, but so cool!) They are used for anything from exercise to meditation (they make a relaxing jingling noise when rolled), and can be used to improve finger dexterity. Bobby would appreciate them I thought, being a doctor. Once we had walked as much as we could stand, we hailed a cab back to our hotel and I barely made it in the room before dropping on to the bed. I heard Bobby laugh as he laid down next to me and turned to me.

"What do you say we take a power nap before dinner?" He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I kicked my shoes off and nodded, wiggling under the covers as he did the same. He grabbed his phone to set the alarm for an hour, and before we drifted off I scooted close to him, staring into his eyes. "Thank you."

"For what? The trip?" he scoffed. "It's nothing really…"

"No." I replied. "For everything. For your kindness, your friendship, your love… for this whole thing. I love it, everything about it. Thank you Bobby, from the bottom of my heart. I don't think I'll ever be able to convey how unbelievably happy I am to be here with you. " I felt him kiss my forehead and wrap his arms around me.

"Thank you Steph. For taking the chance, for agreeing to go out with me. For allowing me to be in your life… it means more than you'll ever know." We both closed our eyes and fell asleep within minutes with smiles on our faces.

Lester POV

My best friend was a lucky bastard. Bobby and Steph had left for their trip earlier and I had gotten one photo from her as they were driving. Since then it had been radio silence, until about an hour ago when he texted me to send more photos of their day together, and gave me the update that they were having a fantastic time but not to worry if I didn't hear from them for the rest of the night. If I had sent that message, it would mean I was getting lucky and couldn't be interrupted. For Bobby? It meant he was spending time focusing on Steph, as he should be.

I knew with everything she had been going through over the last few months she would break down at some point. I was just hoping one of us would be there to catch her when she did. Thankfully Bobby was. I won't lie, I'm jealous. Stephanie is the perfect woman. She's funny and gorgeous and easy going… She spends time with each of us, and isn't afraid to get dirty. (Not that she has a choice sometimes). I responded with a message back to Bobby that read **L:Don't do anything I wouldn't do!** when I sensed my cousin lurking before I see him. "Ric."

"Lester. You hear from Bobby and Steph?"

I could tell he didn't want to ask… that he was trying to avoid thinking about them off together in parts unknown. Bobby had told me where he was taking her but no one else knew, so I'm sure my cousins mind was all over the place. "Yes, they're having fun."

"So where did they go?"

I debated on telling him. To be honest he didn't need to know. They weren't on call so he had no reason to locate them, except that he was being nosy. I showed him my phone and the pictures that had been sent. They were sickingly adorable, huddled together in front of landmark after landmark, holding hands and making kissy faces at the camera. I hadn't seen Bobby this relaxed in… probably never actually.

I heard Ranger growl a bit. "New York?" I don't think he was angry per se, just… frustrated .

I tossed my phone down on to the table in front of me and stared at him. "You wanna explain to me why you care? You all but banished Stephanie from the premises a few months back when you finally got her into bed and then promptly got bored. So what do you care who she sees or where she goes ? "

He definitely growled this time. "That's not what happened Les. Not at all."

"Well then what the hell did happen ?? One minute you two couldn't stay away from each other and the next you've shoved her off towards Morelli. She almost left us Ric." I stood and started pacing. "What were you thinking?"

"I fell in love with her, and it scared the shit out of me." He explained with a deep sigh. I had to stop moving and stare at him for a moment before he continued. "We had been dancing around each other for so long… then the inevitable happened and we slept together."

"Duh. The whole building knew that." I muttered under my breath.

"I looked at her, laying in my bed and an image flashed in my mind. We were married with a kid or two running around. I could actually see it Les. It was real to me. And then reality came crashing down and I remembered who I am. I can't be married to her, not with my life. I already have a daughter I couldn't be around while she was growing up, why would I think things would be different now? I already can't stand when she gets hurt, I simply wouldn't be able to function if anything happened to Stephanie or our kid because of me… so I figured it would just be better if there was no possibility of that scenario playing out."

Color me shocked. My cousin isn't known for being very open or forthcoming about his feelings, so the fact he just told me all this was blowing my mind. "Does Beautiful know any of this?"

He shook his head "No. And she won't."

That made me roll my eyes and make a noise deep in my throat. "And there's the Ranger I'm used to. "


	9. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 9

A/N: nothing much new to report except THANK YOU for your continued support!! Seriously guys, I so so SO appreciate it!!

Chapter 9

Bobby's POV

I knew the alarm on my phone was about to start blaring , but since I was already awake I went ahead and turned it off, then rolled back over to look at my companion. Stephanie would call herself ordinary, plain, maybe even common…she was anything BUT those things. Her brown hair, while she called it a mess, I called it radiant . When I looked into her eyes they reminded me of a bright blue lake… She had a drive to become a better BEA, a love for all of us at Rangeman, and a spunk that wouldn't die no matter how many cars were bombed because of her, or how many crazies were after her. I figured after Ranger pushed her away she would have run screaming for the hills, and she did for a few days until we begged her to come back, which thankfully she agreed to.

I saw the message on my phone from Les **L:Don't do anything I wouldn't do!** And had to suppress a chuckle. The man was worse than a teenage boy. He had hit on Stephanie more times than anyone in the company in the 2 years she has worked with us, and although she seemed genuinely affectionate towards him, it didn't turn into anything further than that. If it had, I would have never made this move. I had missed the second message from him at first glance but saw it now **L: had a H to H with R. Will fill you in when you get back.** So Ranger and he had sat down and talked – I hope that wasn't bad for me. I took another look at the body laying next to me and heard her stomach talking. I had to laugh, it was time to get her up and moving for dinner.

I pressed my lips to her temple and whispered in her ear "Bomber. Time to get up." She made a slight moan and didn't move. I ran my fingers along the curve of her back above her tailbone, which caused her to shiver but still not move . I could feel myself getting turned on, but knew there wasn't time . "Stephanie, dinner." I whispered as a last resort, and her eyes opened, blinking at me owlishly before a smile appeared on her face.

"I could eat. Give me 10." She said and slowly made her way to the bathroom. I heard the water turn on as she jumped in for a quick shower, and I changed. Sure to her word 10 minutes later she emerged, wrapped in a white fluffy robe that must have been hanging in the bathroom. "I brought along a dress… should I change into that?" She asked after seeing my outfit. I nodded and switched spots with her, retreating to the bathroom while she got changed. A few minutes later I heard her call to me, so I stepped back into the bedroom and saw her back towards the bathroom. "Can you zip me please?" I had to control the desire that had hit me like a shot. She was wearing a gorgeous knee length black velvet dress with cold shoulders, lace sleeves and a collared neck. I had to attempt to hide what the sight of her was doing to me before going out to her. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"You look beautiful Stephanie. Truly stunning." She turned, looking up at me, unsure.

"Really ? It's not too… out of the box for me?" she was pulling the dress down , fidgeting with the hem out of nervousness.

"Steph." I gently took her by the upper arms and guided her in front of the floor length mirror that was in the bathroom. "Look at yourself. Stop letting the voices of your mother, or anyone else from the Burg get to you. You're gorgeous, inside and out." I wrapped my arms around her , so we were standing in a semi prom photo pose. "Les would be shitting himself if he saw you right now. His brain would probably explode from trying to come up with a lewd comment or 12."

That made her laugh out loud. "Let's send him a picture!!" so I pulled the phone out of my pocket where I had stored it and we got a mirror photo of the two of us. She turned towards me, her hands adjusting my tie before leaning in and kissing me. "You don't look half bad yourself there Doc." She said winking at me. "Where to now?"

Stephanie's POV

"Here." Bobby handed me another envelope, which I took and opened.

"Waitress?? You're taking me to a Broadway show?" I squealed and jumped into his arms. "Oh my god I LOVE MUSICALS!!! And this one is so powerful, I've heard really good things about it! Wait … do the guys know you're going to a musical?"

Bobby ducked his head and flushed a slight red "No, some of them knew about the concert tomorrow. That was all."

I shook my head in amazement. "I can't tell you thank you enough Bobby. Seriously, this has already been an amazing time." My eyes tried to blink back the unshed tears that were threatening to fall. Bobby sensed it and pulled me close, kissing the tip of my nose making me giggle.

"Why don't you finish getting ready, and we'll head out?" I quickly swiped on mascara, and lipstick, and pulled my hair up into a semi twist since it was still wet. Blow-drying would take forever, so I made the compromise. When I was all set we took another photo to send off to the men, and headed out.

We had fondue at the cutest restaurant. It was upstairs in a suspect looking building, but ended up being amazing. The atmosphere was romantic , and the waiters were attentive. We got done in time to rush over to the theatre and sat down to two and a half hours of the most heart wrenching story I had ever seen in my life. It was beautiful, and by the end I was leaning my head on Bobby's shoulder sobbing big ugly tears. It was cathartic, to watch someone on stage portray such emotions and just be along for their ride .

After the show we went to Serendipity for frozen hot chocolate, and then walked around Rockefeller Center. It wasn't ice skating season, but there were roller skaters taking their turn around the area. We sat and watched them for awhile, and then walked hand in hand back to the hotel. By the time we got back it was close to midnight, and we were both wiped. Bobby helped me out of my dress, and I changed into my night clothes, as he took a shower and then came out of the bathroom in boxers. I felt like a school girl, excited and nervous for my first time. Although it definitely wasn't , Bobby made me feel at ease so much it felt like it. He locked the door turned off the lights and slipped under the covers. We lay side by side facing each other and although I couldn't see him in the dark, I could feel his hand on my hip, fingers brushing over the bare patches of skin that were showing. "I've had the most incredible day." I scooted close to him, snuggling against his chest. "Not once have I been worried about a car blowing up, or being covered in garbage. " I heard him chuckle.

"Tomorrow will be even better." He kissed me gently and we fell asleep quickly.

Lester's POV

I heard my phone ding was I was sitting at dinner with some of the guys so I clicked to open the message and groaned loudly. The men at the table with me crowded around to see what the issue was, and I heard them all make guttural noises when they saw the picture. Stephanie, looking unbelievably gorgeous with Bobby standing right behind her. The men all wanted to message Bobby with good natured ribbing comments , but I waved them off. I was not letting these Neanderthals ruin my best friends date. They both deserved this, more than any two people I had ever had the pleasure of knowing .

I did send my own message to Bobby after I got back to Rangeman. **L: Steph looks gorgeous. You don't look too bad yourself I suppose. Be safe, have fun and kiss beautiful for me! ;)**

He responded a few hours later **B: You had your shot. Hands off fiend, she's mine.** I laughed loudly at that. I was looking forward to them getting back so I could give him a hard time in person, but I was really glad they got a chance to spend this time together. I heard another ping and checked my phone **B: any update on Bowman? L: Nope, he's disappeared. Keep your head on a swivel B, he's lurking somewhere.**

A/N2: if you've never heard of the musical Waitress , Google it or YouTube the music. Its magic.


	10. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 10

A/N: hope you're still enjoying ! I've drug this along a bit, but not to worry we will be having some action soon!

link to Stephs dress in previous chapter isn't saving right.:( I deleted it

Chapter 10

Stephanie's POV

I woke up when the sun shine streaming in hit my face, and the smell of coffee hit my nose. I blinked a few times and focused on Bobby's form standing next to the bed, holding a cup in his hand and grinning at me. He sat it down on the end table and gently patted my legs to communicate that I needed to move them so he could sit down, so I did.

"Plan for today?" he asked, and I grinned back at him.

"Coffee. Breakfast. Shower. Tourist attractions. Lunch. Concert. Late dinner. " I ran down the list of activities and he nodded .

"Sounds good to me. What tourist spots do you want to hit?" He pulled out his phone and showed me a map of the city. "There's the typical ones, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island..." I shook my head.

"I mean, we can… but I would really love to see some less packed places. Central Park of course , and MoMA are my picks." I never was one to be accused of being sophisticated, but I loved modern artwork, and the Museum of Modern Art was a place I had always wanted to get a peek inside of.

"That sounds perfect. Why don't we do a picnic in Central Park? Maybe a carriage ride?" My face lit up like a Christmas tree I was sure of it.

"Oh my gosh yes!! But we need to go somewhere that you have wanted to see! I feel bad, I'm hogging the entire trip."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Steph I wanted you to enjoy yourself, that's all I care about." He started but I cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"Nope! Not gonna take no for an answer. You tell me the one spot that you have been dying to visit and we will go." I jumped out of bed and grabbed the cup of coffee off the end table, taking a sip unable to keep the moan from escaping my lips. I heard him chuckle at me.

"Coney Island." He said quietly after a moment.

I looked at him in shock. "Seriously? You want to go to Coney Island?"

He nodded "I never had a normal childhood when it came to that kind of stuff. My family moved around a lot, being a military brat I didn't get to enjoy having family vacations since we were constantly moving. We moved every two years, so there was no reason to put down roots, or get comfortable in one place." I could see his eyes start to cloud over at the sad memories, and I didn't want him to feeel anything but happy. He deserved it after everything he had done for me.

"Then Coney Island it is! Why don't we move the picnic and MoMA to tomorrow, since we're here another night. Then we can be a part of the lazy Sunday afternoon in the park and museum crowd?"

He agreed and I set my coffee cup down and stood in front of him. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, so I stood between his legs. He pulled me close, his hands on my lower back , and I placed mine on his shoulders. "Thank you again, seriously Bobby. Yesterday was the most perfect day I've had in a very long time." I leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. When we broke I turned to go to the shower, and when he stayed seated on the bed I crooked my finger at him. "Care to join me?"

His eyes brightened and he smiled that 1000 watt smile at me. "You sure?" I could read his face, he was hoping I didn't change my mind. I didn't.

"Very sure." I threw the comment over my shoulder as I started to strip, dropping my clothes like a trail of bread crumbs towards our destination. Bobby didn't hesitate, he jumped up and followed me into the bathroom , shutting the door with his foot as he grabbed me and pulled me into a passionate embrace.

An hour later we both were completely spent, in a very good way. Bobby wasn't like anyone I had been with before. My ex husband , Dickie Orr (Yes, a grown man that went by Dickie) and I had no sooner gotten back from our honey moon when I walked in to our house to find him schtooping my mortal enemy Joyce Barnhardt on our brand new dining room table. So needless to say that relationship didn't last too long, or go that well. Did I mention he was an attorney that had to retreat from Trenton like a dog with his tail between his legs because I got him disbarred AND took him for everything he had? I was pretty proud of that.

Then we all know my history with Morelli, no need to rehash that old song and dance. The sex with Joe was decent, he did this thing with his tongue that I used to dream about long after we broke up. But it wasn't meant to be. Between our mothers pushing us to marriage and his wandering eyes (and dick), I just couldn't do it.

And then there's Ranger. The sexual tension had been prevalent from the first moment I met him in the diner and asked him to help me catch Morelli, and it just grew from there. Then during one of mine and Joe's "Off periods" Ranger and I fell into bed together. It was a culmination of a lot of pent up frustration and feelings , and it had been amazing. It was everything I dreamed it would be, until the next day when he apparently woke up and realized it was all a mistake, that he couldn't be around me. Yup, still bitter, but I'm getting better trust me. After he high tailed it to Miami and used his daughter as an excuse to keep me at arms length and ignore me for a week, I couldn't hear his name without seeing red and wanting hurt something. I also felt betrayal, hurt, and disgust. Like, why do all my relationships fail? Am I just that bad at choosing the right guy?

I glance at the man who just made me see stars and made my knees go weak, and meet his eyes. "You okay?" I grinned at him and pushed him backwards onto the bed, running my fingers down his chest and abs.

"Mmmmhmmmm…." I dip my head down and drag my tounge down the same path my fingers were just taking. I hear him suck in his breath.

"Steph…" he moaned as my head goes lower. I feel his fingers tangle in my hair as he pulls my face back up level to his. I position myself over him and am just about to lower myself down when we hear a knock on the door. We look at each other wide eyed, and both jump up to grab robes, trying not to laugh. Bobby answers the door , stepping aside to allow the room service cart and it's companion in. The waiter smiled shyly at me as I wrapped the robe tightly around me. For some reason I was getting some major spidey senses happening around this guy. Weird, since he seemed harmless enough. He couldn't have been a buck fifty, tall with shaggy blonde hair and a uniform that didn't quite fit him. The nametag said John. I smiled back at him, but wary.

"Keep the change. " I heard Bobby say as he tipped the man and shut the door behind him. When he turned around and looked at me we both busted out laughing. "Well , that killed the mood huh?"

"You know I love my food…" I winked and we sat down to eat.

A little while later we were dressed and made it to Coney Island. I know I told Bobby that we were doing something he wanted to do, but in reality I was super excited to go too! I dreamed about coming here when I was younger and riding the famous wonder wheel, not to mention the roller coasters… plus a food enthusiast such as myself felt like I died and went to heaven! All the typical fried food smells hit us as we walked up hand in hand. I hadn't seen a smile that big on his face in a long time, and it made my heart happy. We spent the whole day there, playing games (he won me a stuffed bear!) and riding rides. We stuffed ourselves silly on funnel cakes and enjoyed people watching when we couldn't walk anymore. We sat on the beach and soaked in the sun, and then took a walk through the aquarium before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the concert. Bobby sent off more shots of the two of us enjoying ourselves throughout the day to Lester, but he hadn't received a response by the time we got back to the room and started changing for our evening. I had only brought the one dress, and thought it was too fancy for the concert so I opted for jeans, heels (I would probably regret that later) and a low cut jewel tone top. When Bobby stepped out of the bathroom in jeans and a button up shirt I stared, debating whether we had time to finish what had been interrupted that morning. It had been hard for me when I first saw him outside of the typical Rangeman black, I wasn't used to it. But over the last couple of days I had begun seeing a different side to him, one I enjoyed immensely. I bit my lower lip trying to put a lid on the flames of desire that were flaming up again when his phone pinged. He looked at it and laughed, then handed it to me.

 **L: You guys are so cute it's disgusting. You ARE coming back right?? The men don't know what to do without beautiful around…. The eye candy is definitely lacking without her here.**

I giggled, taking a selfie and replying back to Lester.

 **B: (S) I'm kidnapping Bobby and we are running away together. Good luck holding down the fort ! *kiss face***

Lester's response was almost immediate, but I had retreated to the bathroom to finish getting ready and handed the phone back to Bobby.

 **L: you can't leave me alone here with these animals!**

Bobby's POV

When Steph went back to the bathroom I called Lester and kept my voice down low.

"B? Shouldn't you be leaving to go to a concert?"

"Any updates on Bowman?" I ignored his question.

"Nope, I promise we are doing everything we can. Just… go. Have fun. Get laid." I could almost hear his eyebrows dancing through the phone. Les is incredibly crass sometimes, even if he is my best friend , so there was no way I was letting him know what had happened this morning.

"Dude. You ARE bringing her back here right ?" the worry in his voice was shining through , but not needed.

"Yes, we are spending half the day here tomorrow then will head back later in the afternoon. And don't worry, we got you a souvenir. Later Les." I said and disconnected. When Steph came back in the room my heart skipped a beat. She was in jeans and a low cut top, paired with heels and had let her hair down so the curls bounced around her face. Finishing her look off with a few swipes of mascara and a pink lip tint she looked like a million dollars. "Ready?" I held my hand out to her and she nodded taking it.

Once at the arena I got nervous. Working for Rangeman has it's perks, and I was about to show Stephanie the extent of them. I pulled her towards the backstage area and she got a confused look on her face. "Where are we going ?" When we stopped in front of a body guard who was the same shape as Tank, although a lighter shade, her face was all out adorable. Her eyes got extremely wide and she held her free hand over her mouth. I nodded to the body guard (Felton, he was a friend of Rangers) and he let us pass. We stopped outside the door to a dressing room when I turned to her and finally spoke.

"I wanted to make this really special for you, so I hope that this is okay. Don't freak out on me….but you get to meet the band ahead of the show, and then we will be watching from backstage." She squeezed me so hard I was afraid she would bust a rib, and squealed in delight. That noise, that look on her face… that's my whole reason for being alive.

A/N2: edited and readded - spelling mistakes make me cranky.


	11. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you !!

Chapter 11

Stephanie's POV

I was in heaven. There was no getting around it, I must have died and went to the good place because I thought Bobby just said I get to meet the band.

"I did." He replied, meaning I had been talking out loud again. He smiled at me and tugged on my hand, ready to open the door. "You ready ?"

I knew I had to be about 15 shades of red, but I squeaked out a yes and we walked through the door.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. From meeting the band and getting photos and autographs, to getting backstage passes and watching them without a crowd of people pushing me around, I was overjoyed. When it was over they asked us if we wanted to join them at a late dinner (I'm sorry, WHAT?! What is happening?!) , but I needed to be with Bobby…if you catch my drift… so I wanted to get back to the hotel. We declined and headed back, and I was formulating my plan of how I could possibly repay him for everything he had done. Bobby sensed something was up and placed his hand on my arm, causing me to look deep into his chocolate eyes.

"Everything okay Steph? You had fun?" Oh my sweet sweet man. You have no idea how much fun I had. I must have said it out loud again because he laughed and grinned at me. "So, good surprise ?"

"The best. I don't want this weekend to end… "

"Well, let's come up with a plan. We take at least one weekend every month to do something like this. Get out of Trenton, and just spent time together . How's that sound?"

I grinned bigger than I thought I could. "Yes. Most definitely!" We spent the rest of the ride back to the hotel in comfortable silence, me tucked up against Bobby and running my fingers absentmindedly over his thigh. When we got back we walked into the lobby and I froze. My neck began to tingle, which could only mean one thing.

"Ranger's here." I said quietly, and Bobby scanned the crowd of people that were milling around. I knew when he saw him, his body tensed. We walked over hand in hand to where he was reclined , in a chair with the back facing a wall. I learned from years of eating out with the crew that if they had the possibility of sitting with their backs against the wall they took it. Something about not being vulnerable.

"Babe. Bobby." He nodded to the two of us, and moved to stand.

"What do you want Ric." Bobby wasn't messing around. His lips were drawn in a tight line, and no amount of me rubbing his knuckles with my thumb would relax him.

Rangers eyes darted to our hands and then back up to our faces so fast I almost missed it. "Bowman is on the move, I came to give you an update."

I sighed louder than I meant to, and they both looked at me. "We still have a half day of vacation, can't we just enjoy that before I'm back to being stalked and threatened ?" I gritted my teeth and moved towards the elevator rolling my eyes. "I'm going upstairs. Do we need to pack and come back tonight ?"

To his credit Ranger looked like he felt sort of bad for interrupting our mini vacation. "Yes ba- Stephanie. "

I nodded. "I'll go pack."

Bobby grabbed my hand as I went to walk off. "I'll be there in just a minute Steph. Let me talk to Ric." He leaned over and kissed me with more passion than I was expecting. I felt his tongue slip past my lips and tangle with mine, and when we drew back from each other I knew I was flushed. I glanced at Ranger who had his head down, I guess trying not to interrupt the moment any more than he already was by being there. I patted Bobby on the cheek and kissed him again quickly, then headed to our room.

Bobby's POV

The concert was one of the best things I've ever experienced in my life. Stephanie looked gorgeous, and her face told me everything. She didn't stop smiling throughout the entire thing. It made my heart overjoyed. I was looking forward to spending the next few hours worshipping her the way she deserved … instead we walked in to the lobby of our hotel and I felt her immediately freeze and tense up.

"Ranger's here." She spoke barely above a whisper. I scanned the lobby and saw him. If he was here it meant one of two things : A. Something was going down with Bowman, or B. He thought about what he did to Steph and wanted her back. As bad as it was, I was hoping for A…

"Babe. Bobby." He nodded at us as we approached him.

"What do you want Ric?" I knew by the look on his face it wasn't good.

He let us know that something in fact was going on and he wanted us back in Trenton tonight. I got it, the guy was a serial rapist, accused murderer, shot a cop and now had his sights set on Steph, but that didn't stop me from being aggravated that our weekend was cut short.

Steph was aggravated too, she let out an exaggerated sigh when Ranger announced we needed to come back home early, but to her credit she didn't put up a fuss. She went upstairs to pack (after one hell of a kiss from me I might add) and I walked with Ranger to the hotel bar.

"So, what's so urgent with this guy you drove an hour and a half just to meet us in our hotel lobby. Is he in NY?" I waved my hand at the bartender and he nodded at me, asking for my drink preference and then setting it down in front of me. I waited til be walked off again before continuing the conversation. "I haven't seen anything strange or out of place Ric. So let me ask you, friend to friend , is this an excuse to get Stephanie to come back early so you can spend time with her?" I calmly took a sip of my whiskey and waited.

Usually we pride ourselves on remaining stoic, and Ranger, above us all ,was a master of the stone face. After my comment though, his face turned deep red and be started breathing heavy, like he was trying to control his temper. "Robert." He hadn't called me my proper name since we met 20 years ago, when we started in the Rangers together.

"Okay, so it's not. But still, you should understand my thought process." I downed the rest of my drink and got down off the stool. "I'm going to go upstairs and help Steph pack, and we will get back to Trenton as soon as possible. You don't need to stick around, I'll get her back." He nodded at me and left and I headed upstairs.

Stephanie's POV

I walked, no, stormed into our hotel room after seeing Ranger in the lobby and threw myself down into the bed face first. I should have realized the other shoe would drop eventually, things had gone so well over the weekend so it was only a matter of time before a big baddy came and ruined it all. I rolled over, staring at the ceiling and decided I needed a pep talk.

"What is wrong with you Stephanie ? You've just had the most amazing weekend with a fantastic man, you need to grow the fuck up! So we have to cut short, it's not like we won't see each other every day or get to do this again… catching this creep is more important than your sex life!" As I was giving myself this awesome kick in the pants I didn't hear Bobby come in. When I heard what sounded like a laugh I jumped up quickly and blushed. "You heard all that huh?"

He was leaning against the wall grinning at me. "I did. You want me to give you a minute to finish up?" he teased.

"Shut up." I stuck my tongue out at him and I heard him make a low growl, before his face got very serious. He was in front of me in two steps, lips crushing against mine that caused a bolt of desire to go straight to my doo-dah.

"I sent Ranger away. We can leave whenever you want." He murmured against my lips, and then started a trail of kisses and nips down my neck. I couldn't contain the moan from escaping, and we started tearing each others clothes off like our lives depended on it.

Ranger's POV

I shouldn't have come. I saw them walk into the lobby hand in hand from my vantage point and my stomach clenched, my vision blurred and I could feel a headache forming. I told myself I wasn't just in NY to see Steph and gauge how the weekend had been going with the two of them… I told myself I needed to get her to safety… and it was almost true. Bowman was on the move, but we had no idea where. The only thing we had found out was that he had made some very vocal statements about getting back at her. Then Bobby kissed her. No, that wasn't the right word for it. He practically fucked her in the lobby of the hotel in front of me, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I cursed my body for betraying me, I got instantly hard when she pulled away from him, her face flushed. Not from embarrassment though. She was turned on, I could hear the desire pulsing through her from across the lobby. Then he had the nerve to actually say I was there under false pretenses. Okay so he was right , somewhat. After he walked off I realized I needed to let them be. I walked out to my car and debated whether I should wait for them or head back to Haywood. I waited.

Stephanie's POV

I felt Bobby stir as he tried to detangle himself from me. We had landed on the bed in a sweaty heap after an ambitious round of sex. I reached out and ran my fingers over his muscles and I could practically hear his smile. "We probably should head back…"

I pouted, but didn't put up a fight. We got up and showered (together of course, saving time and water!) Then packed and headed downstairs to leave. I waited in the lobby at the front desk while he got the car ready to go. Catching a glimpse of the bell boy that had interrupted our romp that morning I watched him carefully. He appeared nervous. No, scratch that. He was sweating buckets, which of course peeked my interest. He kept glancing around the lobby, like he was waiting for someone to show up. Then he exited the lobby area and headed down a hallway. I couldn't help it, my curiosity peeked so I followed him. I could use this as an exercise for picking up FTAs. I was far from stealthy but I thought I was doing pretty well. That was until I felt a sting on my neck and saw a familiar face smirking in front of me before the world went dark.


	12. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 12

A/N: oh my you guys are so awesome! I loved the reviews- some of you are **very** vocal about Steph and her curiosity LOL . I love it!! Thank you so much!!

Chapter 12

Stephanie's POV

I rolled over and reached for Bobby to let him know we should be getting back to Haywood when I realized I couldn't move my hands. Panic set in as I tried to remember what I was doing prior to things going dark. I opened my eyes to try and take in my surroundings , but it was pitch black, except a tiny sliver of light peeking out from under a door. Why is everything so fuzzy ? We had walked in to the hotel lobby after the concert… Ranger. He had come to warn us about Bowman. But Ranger left, and Bobby and I had the most incredible… The bell boy! I had been following the bell boy, his name tag showed something staring with a J… the one that caused my spidey senses to tingle. Dammit why didn't I tell Bobby I thought something was off with the kid. I hear voices outside the door and I strain to hear them, but I can't make out words. They sound like the adults from the Peanuts cartoons to me, so I lay back down on what feels like a very old mattress , I can feel a spring digging into my back.

A few moments later the door opens and I'm hit with a bright beam of light. I would recognize that from anywhere , that's a doctors pen light, just like Bobby uses. Oh shit, Bobby! God I hope they didn't hurt him. I blink a few times and try to stare at the face behind the light.

"I recognize you. The bell hop, from our hotel right? Jim, Jason…"

"John. My name is John. I'm so sorry…" he started in as he checked my eyes but was cut off by a voice at the door.

"Shut up, don't talk to her. Is she okay to move?" Mr. Tall Dark and Scary asked. I couldn't get look at his face, but figured he wasn't the one in charge. "Boss wants her with him like yesterday." And my instincts prove right.

"Where am I?" I whisper to John, who obviously did **NOT** want to be there. "Who are you working for?" No sooner than I asked the question did Mr. Scary walked into the room and grabbed my arm, hauling me up abruptly.

"Quit chatting up the help and get moving." He not so gently shoved me towards the open door, and for a split second I thought I might actually get away from him, but that thought was derailed when another large man stepped into view and grabbed my arm to walk me somewhere else. Once I was in the light I could take stock of my situation . I'm handcuffed. My shoes are gone (I guess so I don't try and run?) and I feel in general disarray, but nothing feels bruised or broken. My thoughts shift to Bobby and then to Ranger. If I had my phone he could track me. If I had my car he could track me. As of right now I'm tracker less and I have no idea how I'll get out of this situation .

Scary dude #2 pulls me into an office, and throws me down into a chair. He motions for me to lean forward and I do, hesitantly, so he unlocks the handcuffs and points at me to sit back. I rub my wrists and resist the urge to kick this guy in the nuts, figuring that won't help my situation any , it'll just make me feel better. After a minute of silence and my guard watching me carefully I find my voice. "Can you tell me why I'm here?" The guy was taking a page out of the Rangeman playbook because his face completely blank. Seeing as my companion is less than chatty, I sit back and think. _It's gotta be related to Bowman, there's no other explanation. Why does he want me? I don't get it_.

"You don't seem that big of deal." He finally spoke up, his voice low and gravelly . "Boss seems to want you something bad though."

"And just who is this Boss?" I ask quietly, even though I'm 99.999% sure I know the answer.

"Oh, you'll see." He smirked. "By the way, if you're half as fun in the sack as it looked like with that dude you were with , then maybe I'll take a crack at you…"

Bobby. They had been watching us… I felt nauseous. "Where is he? What have you done with him?" Rhino Steph was out in full force at this point when I realized they might have done something to him.

The guy just scoffed at me. SCOFFED ! Can you believe the nerve? "We didn't do anything to him, or the other one. They're both clueless. And he says he's in security." He said laughing, and his eyes roamed over me. "I would definitely kept you more secure…" he started to walk over to me and before I could defend myself the door swung open and low and behold, there stood the mastermind behind it all.

Bobby's POV

I walked back in to the lobby to let Steph know the car was ready to go , but when I scanned the room I didn't see her. I had left her by the front desk so I asked them if them had seen her.

"No sir I'm sorry, she was standing here and then she was gone. I apologize. " The front desk girl gave me a frightened look as her eyes cut behind me and I immediately realized why she was nervous.

"Ranger, Steph is gone." I said without turning around. I tried to take even breaths, in and out but it wasn't making me feel better. Here I had accused Ranger of only coming here to rush us back to Haywood under the pretense Bowman was after Steph, when he actually was. And now he might have taken her. I shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way of her safety.

Ranger clapped a hand on my shoulder "You did everything right this weekend. You kept her safe and happy." He replied to my thoughts , I must have picked up her habit of saying her thoughts out loud. Then he turned towards the girl behind the desk who was still in awe over the two of us. "I need your security , now." She nodded and reached under the desk, pressing a button on a phone and speaking for a second before hanging up.

"They're on their way sir. " she said and scurried away.

We met with security and went over the video of the lobby and its surrounding hallways. I saw Steph standing next to the desk and something catch her eye as she went to investigate. When zoomed in we saw the bell boy that had brought Steph and me food that morning. She followed him around a corner and was gone. "Any other angles?" Ranger said calmly. This surprised me. Usually he… freaked out isn't the right term because Ranger didn't freak out about anything but he usually wasn't this calm when it came to her. The security guard played with the controls and brought up the feed in the hallway, showing Steph walking right past a man, he looked tall but we couldn't clearly make out his face. Then a few seconds later she dropped, he must have given her a sedative of some sort. We watched as he picked her up and took her out a side door. Ranger and I stood, shook hands with the security officer and walked away.

I waited until we were out of ear shot of the officer before turning to Ranger. "What do we do?"

He glanced at me and kept walking . "That was Bowman. We need to get back to Haywood." I was so angry with myself for not listening to Ranger, and not taking him seriously . This was all my fault.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me. "Bobby, I have never been one to get deep with any of my men, but Lester and I had a heart to heart when you two left for this mini vacation. I was an idiot for pushing her away, but if she's happy with you then I'm happy for you both. We will find her, and she'll be okay. She has to be." Again he clapped a hand over my shoulder and walked out the front door, leaving me trailing in his wake.

Ranger's POV

When I decided to travel the short distance to N.Y. and convince Bobby and Babe to come back to Haywood, I told myself it was strictly because I was worried about her safety. But then I saw them, walking into the lobby of the hotel. Stephanie looked gorgeous, as usual… But she also looked relaxed. A look I hadn't seen on her in quite a while. Bobby made her happy. We came from similar backgrounds, both serving in the same company together as Rangers , but as Bobby served as the medic, I made my way to Lieutenant Colonel fairly quickly. Why I felt like I didn't deserve Steph probably baffled some of my men, but Bobby saved lives, I took them. As much as it hurt me to admit it, he was better for her than me. When he accused me of making up the danger (not in so many words) just to get her back in Haywood I balked at the idea, but he was right (sort of). I didn't realize Bowman was this close, in fact I hadn't even been told he was in N.Y. My unexpected visit didn't really have so much to do with the possibility of danger as it did wanting to see Steph. After seeing the video I needed to get us back to Haywood and start tracking this bastard down.

To Bobby's credit he looked sickened at the thought of blowing my concerns and my presence off, but I got it. I tried to reassure him as best I could , and we headed in our two separate cars back to base. I called Lester to give him the heads up on my way out of town, but he didn't answer, so I tried Tank.

Leader's POV

Bobby called to let us know what had happened to Steph, and that he and Ranger were on their way back to Haywood. I hung up the phone sick to my stomach. We were supposed to be protecting her… she was in trouble because we couldn't lock this guy down. I knew Bobby had to be beside himself, his voice told me everything I needed to know about how the weekend went. He was in love with Stephanie, and now she was missing. Shit , this would not be good for any of us. I ran my hands over my face and went to see Hector.

Tank's POV

I hung up with Ranger and threw my phone onto the desk I was seated in front of. Little girl had been taken . I didn't know if I should be mad at Bobby for not keeping an eye on her, Ranger for going up to N.Y. and busting in on their weekend , or us for not doing our jobs and tracking down this bastard who was obsessed with her. I knew one person that needed to be made aware of the situation, although none of the others thought about him. I picked up the phone , dialing a number I figured I wouldn't ever be calling again.

Joseph's POV

I had been at home in bed when I heard my cell phone ring. I picked it up, checking the caller ID , and was surprised to hear the voice on the other end.

"Morelli."

"Morelli, it's Tank." Why was Rangers second in command calling me? It had to do with Stephanie, but why wasn't Ranger the one on the phone?

"Is she okay?"

He paused for a second. "She's been kidnapped. I believe you'll wanna be involved, I'm 99 % sure it was Bowman." The fucker that shot me and took my gun, of course I want to be involved! Even if Steph and I hadn't had that talk in the hospital, I still would always be there for her. It wasn't her fault I was such a dick to her for so many years, or that our folks wanted us to do the typical Burg life, which included Steph being the typical Burg wife (staying home, cooking dinner, 2.5 kids), and me being the typical Burg husband(heavy drinker, partying every weekend). She wasn't cut out that way. From the day she ran me down with her grandfather's car I knew she would never fit that mold. I loved her though, still do. Although now it's more along the lines of a wanting to protect her, not a wanting to sleep with her type of love. I had ruined any chance of that happening ever again a long time ago.

"Where's Ranger?"

I heard the big guy sigh quietly before answering . "On his way back from N.Y. with Bobby." The medic… before I could ask why he continued "Bobby and little girl were in the city this weekend . We got word Bowman was on the move so Ranger went there to give them the heads up, but before they could make it back here she was taken. Can you drive? Or do you need a pick up?" Judging by his tone of voice there was more to the story than he was letting on. Since the shooting had limited my mobility I actually shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car for another week or so.

"Pick up would be great. I'll be ready in 15."

"Someone will be there in 10." He said shortly and hung up. So as quickly as I could I got dressed and made my way downstairs . To his word someone knocked on the door 10 minutes later and I headed outside under the escort of a tall bald headed man dressed in all black. I recognized him as one of Rangers main guys, although I couldn't remember his name. "I know you…"

"Cal. Let's get you to Haywood Detective." He opened the door for me and we got in , heading to Rangers fortress.


	13. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 13

A/N: I'm having a bit of writers block, so please forgive me. also I'm sick :( Like, majorly.

Chapter 13

Joseph's POV

I had only been in the Rangeman "fortress" a few times up to this point, and it never ceased to amaze me just how inconspicuous it was. A plain brick building , several stories, no distinguishing marks on it. If you went by the face you would think it was just a regular office building. But inside was a different story. It had sophisticated security, no one allowed in past the lobby that didn't have specific clearance. There was the garage, filled with Rangeman vehicles (The ones Steph hadn't blown up). When we drove in I saw Rangers favorite wasn't there, the Porsche 911, so I figured he probably was driving it back from N.Y… Cal, my driver , hadn't filled me in completely yet so I had to wait to hear the full story of why they had been there. I knew there were apartments inside for their employees, Steph moved in to one after her apartment blew up this last time. She told me there was also a gym and shooting range somewhere as well as offices. And then Rangers personal apartment on 7.

I was brought up to their conference room on 5. I glanced around at the other men that were waiting, and read their faces. They were all worried beyond belief for Cupcake… Stephanie. I saw Lester Santos, Ranger's cousin , and Tank, the one that called me, huddled talking. A few minutes later Ranger and the medic Bobby walked in. Their faces were different. There was anger mixed in with their fear, although it appeared they were angry with each other as much as the situation. The tension was as thick in the air when they walked in and sat on opposite sides of the table.

Everyone took their spots as I waited for the first person to speak but no one did. It was like they were all off in their own worlds, so I cleared my throat . "I don't need the full story right now, but I would appreciate some sort of update. You think Bowman has her right? Any trackers on her?"

Rangers eyes cut to me, and I could tell for a minute he was confused as to why I was there. He then looked at Tank before speaking . "Yes, we believe Bowman had a plant at the hotel where Steph and Bobby were staying." Huh, that was interesting, no wonder the doc looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders . "We can't find him or Bowman at this time, but Hector is working on it. I had the hotel send over the video footage."

He skipped my tracker question. That surprised me, Manoso always had a tracker on Steph. In her car, her phone, her shoes hell he probably has them sewed into her underwear. "No tracker?" He shook his head.

"She left her phone with me this weekend, she had gotten a disturbing call and wanted me to track the caller if they attempted again while she was out of town."

"What do we know about this accomplice?" I asked and again was met with silence. It was getting annoying . "Guys listen, I'm not here to steal her away from you. Steph and I are friends. I love her , I always will, but she is way happier working here with you guys than being stuck at home like the typical 'Burg housewife her mom expects her to be. You won't get any pushback from me, I'm strictly here to help."

That seemed to put their minds at ease, and the conversation started to progress. The bell hops name was John, and the hotel tracked down a last known address on him in Chestnut Park, so Ranger had a team head that way. They also ran down Ron Bowman's last known which was a mansion in Robbinsville. It actually belonged to his Daddy, Robert Bowman, who was the one that bailed him out of jail all the previous times, so it seemed like a decent starting spot. I called Eddie Gazarra to give him the heads up. He and Steph were close, pretty sure I could add him to the list of guys that were in love with her, not to mention related by marriage so I figured he had the right to know. He said he would work on a warrant , but I could tell that Rangers team wasn't going to wait on paperwork, and to be honest they didn't have to.

"Thank you Morelli. You're more than welcome to join us, Steph would want you there. Besides , the fucker shot you, you deserve to have a little revenge. " Ranger advised me, shaking my good hand as we all stood to disperse.

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away from this bastard. He still has my piece." I responded with a growl. I caught a glimpse of the medic out of the corner of my eye and nudged Ranger. "What's up with him?"

Rangers face turned blank. "They were on a date." He said shortly and walked away.

Date? Out of town and for the weekend ? No wonder he looked sick, Steph was taken on his watch. And no wonder Ranger was pissy, he barely let her out of sight when they were together . Interesting… I knew one guy that would fill me in, he gossiped almost as much the housewives in the 'Burg. I jogged over to catch up to him.

"Hey Santos, got a sec?"

Stephanie's POV

"Why the hell am I here?" I glared at the man sitting across from me. "What do you want?"

"Ms. Plum, its so nice to see you again." Ron Bowman sat behind the desk, fingers drumming. "I wanted to have a chat. "

"Bullshit. Why am I here?" I asked again, and I felt a hand grab the back of my neck and squeeze, causing me to yelp.

"Your temper Ms. Plum , is something we could do without. Now, I don't want to hurt you..." This didn't sound promising… I felt a missing "yet" at the end of his sentence. "But you caused me a great deal of stress, and I need that stress relieved."

I squirmed in the chair, and the hand gripped tighter. "I'm sorry, how can I help? Did you want me to talk to Detective Morelli? I bet he'll drop the charges against you." Fat fucking chance on that happening.

"No no, the detective doesn't matter to me. YOU on the other hand, you and that group of thugs you were with the other night, that's what matters. That's what caused me the stress. I just went out to have a good time, and you ruined it. " His face was twisting with every word. I didn't like the sound of this, at all. "So you can make it up to me."

I closed my eyes and took a breath before opening them again and answering . "And how do I do that?"

"By dying." He replied, eyes black.

Well fuck.

Lester's POV

Shit. Double shit. Beautiful was taken and Ranger is having a "whose dick is bigger" contest with Bobby over the whole thing. Thankfully Bobby is ignoring him for the most part, but I can tell this whole thing is weighing on him. We have to get beautiful back or things will go from bad to exponentially worse around here. She was… IS … our glue that holds us all together . I shoot a glance at Bobby as we sit around the conference table and am heart broken at the look on his face. As we were done giving the cop the rundown and are leaving Morelli caught up to me and asked what was going on.

Now I've never liked Morelli. I didn't think he was good enough for Steph, especially when we found out about his cheating . Steph kicked him to the curb after she and Ranger got closer, but for some unknown reason they remained friends . Don't ask me why, but beautiful is a softie at heart. Personally I wanted to kick his ass, especially after we heard his exclamation of love at the hospital (TOO LATE DUDE!). But… I refrained.

"Hey Santos, got a sec?"

I knew this was coming. I could tell by the look on Morellis face, he wanted the 411 on why Steph was in N.Y. I've been known to be the office gossip, so I thought I would indulge him.

"Hey Morelli, how's the shoulder?"

He shrugged with his good arm. "Hurts like a bitch, but it'll heal… so…" I knew it. "What's the deal between Brown and Ranger? They look pissed at each other. "

The dilemma. Do I tell him? Will it affect the outcome of getting Steph? I was already tired of the animosity between them. "Bobby took Steph to N.Y for the weekend… on a date." I checked the look on his face but he didn't seem jealous, thank God.

"Good for her…and him. She deserves to be happy. Ranger lost his chance, he should have manned up a long time ago." Morelli smirked as we walked out the door.

Bobby's POV

The few minutes from the garage up to the conference room on 5 trapped in the elevator with Ranger was hell. I was already kicking myself for not paying attention in N.Y to our surroundings, I had given Steph enough hell about it over the years I should have known better. But we were in a bubble and having too much fun. I made my way to Hectors lab to see if he had found out anything , and found him staring at the monitors in front of him.

"Hector?"

He raised his head but didn't say anything, so I got closer and tried again.

"You see anything?"

He had the same blank look we all try and throw on to prove nothing can get to us. I'll fill you in on a secret, it's an act. I may be in love with Steph, but so are probably 99% of the guys here. I just made the first move… so I knew that everyone was having an extremely rough go of it right now. Since Hector wasn't responding when I asked in English, I figured I would try Spanish. " _Hector, ¿ves algo en el video? ¿Puedes encontrar a Stephanie?_ " (Hector, do you see anything on the monitors? Can you find Stephanie?)

A slow smile appeared on his otherwise grim looking face. " _Sí, sé dónde está ella_." (Yes, I know where she is.)

I just glared at him. "Well??" I practically shouted at him, and he just calmly stared at me. Take a step back Bobby, he's not the enemy. "Hector, I love her. Please, I need to know where she is."

He pointed to a video feed he had running on the monitor in front of him. I could see Bowman, a man that looked like he could have been one of our guys, and Stephanie on the screen. My heart leapt into my throat, the big guy was standing behind her, hand on her neck. "Where is this Hector? Where's Stephanie?"


	14. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _" Hector, ¿ves algo en el video? ¿Puedes encontrar a Stephanie?" (Hector, do you see anything on the monitors? Can you find Stephanie?)_ _A slow smile appeared on his otherwise grim looking face. " Sí, sé dónde está ella." (Yes, I know where she is.)_ _I just glared at him. "Well??" I practically shouted at him, and he just calmly stared at me. Take a step back Bobby, he's not the enemy. "Hector, I love her. Please, I need to know where she is."_ _He pointed to a video feed he had running on the monitor in front of him. I could see Bowman, a man that looked like he could have been one of our guys, and Stephanie on the screen. My heart leapt into my throat, the big guy was standing behind her, hand on her neck. "Where is this Hector? Where's Stephanie?"_

Bobby's POV

Hector just sat there, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Finally he answered, in perfect English . "They are here, in New Jersey. That room is an office at the old Kat Scratch club downtown. It's been abandoned for a few years, Bowman's father owns it. I have a friend keeping an eye out for us." His eyes shifted to the bulky man standing behind Steph on screen, with his hand on her neck.

"Are you sure you can trust him?" I asked and Hector nodded.

"He's playing the part _mi amigo_ (my friend). I promise, she's safe." He typed something out on his phone and I heard mine buzz a minute later.

As I pulled it out to look at it I had to ask him "Why are you showing me this and not Ranger?"

Hector just shook his head. " _Es un estúpido imbécil. Tu y Stephanie se merecen la una a la otra._ " (He's a stupid asshole. You and Stephanie deserve each other. ) "Now, go save your girl Bobby. She needs you."

I clapped him on the back and took off upstairs towards the people I knew I could trust to come with me. It didn't take long to track down Lester, Tank, Morelli (Yes, I brought the cop along) and Ram. We piled into Rangeman vehicles and took off for the address that Hector forwarded to my phone. I would call Ranger once she was safe, that was the most important thing.

Stephanie's POV

The guys grip on my neck kept getting tighter , making it a tad bit difficult for me to breathe. I started panicking, Bowman wanted me dead, I have no trackers on and there is no way for my Merry Men to find me. How the hell was I going to get out of this? Bowman stood up and the guy behind me hauled me up as well, holding my wrists behind me.

"I hope you like the accommodations for now Ms. Plum. You won't be here very long, but the least I can do is give you some peace and quiet before you die." He jerked his head in the direction of the room I had been pulled from and Mr. Tight Grip shoved me that way. This guy had the same build as my Merry Men, for a brief second I thought this was all an elaborate prank done by Les or something to freak me out...that he had hired a MM lookalike to scare the ever loving shit out of me

"You can tell Lester this isn't funny… " I started in as he was dragging me down the hallway towards the room again.

Mr. Tight Grip gave me a look, one eyebrow raised, but didn't say anything until we got to the room. Then I only heard one quietly uttered phrase come out of his mouth " _la pandilla tiene tu espalda_ " (The gang has your back.) I had spent enough time around Hector to know what he said, and that he was referring to my men when he said it. Relief washed over me and I actually relaxed for a brief second. When I turned around and looked into his eyes I could see it written on his face. He was a good guy, and I knew he would protect me as much as he could until my guys got there. I mouthed "Thank you" to him and sat back down on the broken mattress on the floor, waiting for the Cavalry to arrive.

Lester's POV

When Brown cornered Tank, Morelli, Ram and myself and told us he knew where Steph was I thought he was having delusions. Then he filled us in on the conversation he just had with Hector, and how Hector had a friend watching out for Steph. We just needed to get there and rescue her before Bowman went off the deep end. So that leads us to here and now , 5 men jumping into a vehicle , and squealing out of the Rangemen garage towards the abandoned club she was at. Hector fed the live video coverage that he had hacked in to to our phones so we could keep an eye on the situation while we drove, and talked to us through comms. Tank was behind the wheel, his dark knuckles were almost white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.

"Plan? " Morelli broke the silence . I glanced at Tank , since he was the one out of the 5 of us in charge.

"When we get there Bobby I want you going in. She needs to see you. You and I will take the front, Les and Morelli the back. Ram I want you ready in case we need a sniper assist. " We heard Hector over our comms at that moment, speaking perfect English, which surprised some but not all of us by the look on Bobby's face. Hector was staying at Haywood to coordinate and keep an eye on the situation.

"The man that is my friend, his name is Ken, but he goes by Trouble. He will provide whatever back up you need. There are only the two ways in and out of the building-" we heard him stop and a loud voice come over the speaker.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!" We all rolled our eyes… Ranger had entered and must have figured out we left.

Rapid Spanish came across the comms as a heated exchange happened between Hector and Ranger. Hector is an ex gang member with the tear drop tattoos to show how many kills he has under his belt. Out of everyone that works for Rangeman he's the smallest but the deadliest and most feared, even Ranger usually stays away from him. So the fact he was downstairs confronting Hector told us a lot. After a few minutes of tense conversation Ranger came back over the comms.

"Let me know when you have her." And he was gone.

Ranger's POV

Did they really think they could get out of the building without me knowing? My three partners (Bobby, Lester and Tank) , Morelli and Ram all left without saying a word to me. They actually thought I wouldn't know? I had already sent teams to the bell boy and Bowman's last known addresses. I made my way to the basement and walked in to hear Hector on the comms with them, filling them in on the situation at the building.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!" I got in his face so the guys most likely heard me. Now I'm a big guy, almost 6 foot and solid, and I don't scare easily. But Hector? He is an ex gang member and doesn't scare for shit. The guys all thought he was gay, and only spoke Spanish but I knew better on both accounts. He loved Stephanie (or as he called her _Florecita_ ) and would do anything to protect her and keep her safe. Apparently that meant telling Bobby where she was and not me, his boss. So as I stood there he stared at me with an eerie sense of calm, then spoke to me in rapid Spanish.

" _No te mereces su gilipollas. Bobby la cuidará, la dejará ir_." (You don't deserve her asshole. Bobby will take care of her, let her go.)

That got me hot. I know I screwed up but damn. I responded back to him that I loved Stephanie, and didn't intentionally hurt her. She knew my feelings about relationships from the get go, she shouldn't have been shocked when I told her I didn't do them. Then again I didn't explain my thinking very well (at all) when I pushed her towards Morelli, I just did it. Dammit, I hate when my men are right.

"Let me know when you have her." I told them and walked away.


	15. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you for the reviews!! You have no idea how exciting it is when I see that notification email pop up!! :)

Chapter 15

 _"No te mereces su gilipollas. Bobby la cuidará, la dejará ir." (You don't deserve her asshole. Bobby will take care of her, let her go.)_

Bobby's POV

I don't know if anyone else in the car caught the comment Hector made to Ranger, but my ears perked when I heard my name. Hector was right, I will always take care of Stephanie, for as long as she would let me. I'm hoping Ranger gets the hint now that even Hector has mentioned it to him, and he backs off.

We were waiting to approach the building when Hector came back over our comms. "Ranger will not be a problem. I have sent all other available members to your location as back up. Be ready to breach when I say the word." I had to smile at that. Big bad scary Ranger had been reprimanded by Hector. If it had been any of the rest of us we would have been ordered to the mats after this whole ordeal was over, but Hector was a scary ass dude. Most of us had skills when it came to killing… he made it into a sport, but NEVER would he hurt a woman or child. That's where his line was drawn. It didn't matter if they were aiming a gun at his head, he would disarm them without injury. The ex gang member had morals, surprising right?

Stephanie's POV

I sat on the same old discarded mattress back in the same dusty old room I had woken up in, praying the boys would come soon. My guard stood staring at me. If I hadn't known he was on my side it would have gotten a bit creepy.

"Why do they call Bomber?"

Well hell, I should have known he would have heard about that. "I have a tendency to be around things that get destroyed … cars, apartments, a funeral home once…" I shrugged "That one was **NOT** my fault though!" He still looked puzzled . "Everything blows up around me. Hence the name… for a time I was called the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. " He got that OHHH YEAH look on his face after that. "My actual name is Stephanie Plum in case you weren't aware." I stuck my hand out to shake his, figuring we could at least get acquainted while I was stuck there. He grabbed it with what I swear was a sparkle in his eyes and shook it. "You are?"

"Ken Maines. But I go by Trouble." I laughed.

"Don't let the boys hear you say that, they'll steal it for a new nickname for me!" I smiled at him, and then looked him over. Now that I wasn't afraid he was going to attack me at any point I could check him out. He looked like he would fit in with the Merry Men no problem. At least 6'5 he had a shade lighter coloring than Ranger and Les, and his eyes were the bluest I had ever seen. I wondered how he and Hector knew each other… he caught my glance and smiled.

"We grew up together, and were in the same gang until I got shipped out to the miliitary. It was that or death. " I did a quick look at his eyes and didn't see any teardrops. "I got out before I had to do that." He must have the same ESP as the Merry men have. "No you said it out loud." He laughed quietly.

"Oh, yeah I have that habit." I blushed.

"By the way." He looked down at his feet and I swear his cheeks were pink. "I'm sorry about earlier. I hated having to put my hands on you like that. Did I hurt you?"

I shrugged. "I've had worse, trust me."

"Well, my mother taught me not to treat women like that, so I'm sorry. Also about the comments… I've been working for Bowman for a few months and needed to keep my cover."

Again I shrugged. "Trust me big guy, it's nothing I can't handle. So have you talked to Hector? Are the guys on their way?"

He shook his head. "I haven't made contact. Hopefully they'll be here soon, because he has plans for you before killing you and I don't want you subjected to that. "

Well that sounds like a ball of fun. I closed my eyes and prayed that the guys would be here before Bowman decided to pay me a visit.

Ranger's POV

FUCK!! I've lost the respect of my men, I've lost Stephanie… hell even Morelli made me feel like a jerk. I picked up the phone and called Julie to let her know I would be coming to Miami on a more permanent basis after we rescued Steph, and she was thrilled. I could tell she was worried about me, she wasn't used to me discussing Steph in strictly job terms. Now if the guys would just call to let me know they got her, things could calm down a bit. We still need to have that discussion…I was ready for her to be safe and back under this roof where she belonged. Then I would deal with my men.

I dialed Tank "Report!"

He was my best friend, the one I knew I could count on above anyone else. I knew he cared about Stephanie as well, but didn't realize the depths of his affection.

"We haven't breached yet. Hector will watch the video and let us know when she's in a safe spot. I'll call you when it's done Ric." And just like that he was gone.

DOUBLE FUCK!! At least he said more than one word to me, and he hadn't cussed me out. I considered it a positive.

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, remembering...I knew Stephanie was different the first time we met. That moment at the diner started it all, but I really knew when she called me to get her out of the handcuffs Morelli had trapped her in. When I walked into the bathroom and saw her naked my life changed, I knew she would be in it forever. I introduced her to my men, helped her become a better bounty hunter, and then I went and fucked it all up. The thing was I wanted her in my life, but I knew it wouldn't be the way she deserved. Pulling her into dark alleys and stealing random kisses, as hot as it was, shouldn't be her life. It wasn't fair to her to string her along for my own pleasure when I knew it wouldn't lead anywhere. She deserves happiness, and at one time I thought that she would get it with Morelli but now I knew better. Bobby will take care of her, and I'll watch from Miami. That's the best decision for both of us.

Hectors POV

My Estephania deserved better than that _imbécil_ (idiot) Ranger. I am thrilled that Bobby finally stepped up to the plate, if he hadn't I know there was a line of men here that would have loved the opportunity to be with her, myself included. I see movement on the monitor that I'm watching, and my blood runs cold.

Trouble's POV

I glanced at the little whisp of a woman sitting on the mattress in that cold building in shock and awe. She was strong , I knew that from talking to Hector about her for the last couple of years, but I had no idea the depth of her strength until earlier. She held her ground against Bowman, even sassing back to him a bit. I hated the fact I had to put my hands on her in the way I did, but I have a part to play, even if it is just for a little longer. Once this op is over and Stephanie is safe I'll need to find a new employer, and I'm hoping Hectors company will be the one for me. I heard a noise outside the door and she jumped up as it opened .

"Still comfortable Ms. Plum? It won't be long now, I expect Monoso will be here soon." Bowman entered, sneering at her.

Stephanies POV

I grimaced. "Um, if you're expecting Ranger you are gonna be waiting a while. He and I are barely friends." I regretted it the second the words slipped past my lips…it pissed him off and he strode the few steps towards me, punching me hard across the face. Surprisingly I kept my outburst to a whimper and cut my eyes towards Trouble, slightly shaking my head so that he didn't break his cover, holding a hand over my cheek.

"You better hope that isn't the case, or things will get rather uncomfortable for you soon." He stormed back out and as soon as the door was shut Trouble rushed over to me. I waved him off, rubbing my hand over the mark.

"I'm fine Trouble." He pulled my hand away and gasped.

"Its already starting to bruise. I can't get you any ice, he'll get suspicious…" His face looked like a sad puppy dog, it was sweet.

"Trust me, this is nothing. I'll get patched up whenever my guys get he-" I hissed in pain as he probed his fingers over the area.

"Sorry, I was checking to see if you had a fracture. I don't think he broke the cheekbone, but it's going to be painful for a few days."

Hectors POV

The moment the man punched Estephania in the face I was done. "As soon as the rest of the group arrives, you are free to enter. He has 8 guards around the building that I've seen, that does not include Trouble. He is with Stephanie, do not I REPEAT DO NOT use lethal force on him he is a friend and ally. If you have to, pretend to take him in, unless you kill Bowman." I barked out orders over the comms, and heard the reply back that the other teams were pulling up.

"Hector where's Stephanie?" Bobbys voice came over the intercom thick with worry.

"She is in an office, bottom floor. No windows, it's an interior office." I watched the video waiting for the right time to send them in. I waited too long.


	16. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you everyone!!!

Chapter 16

Stephanie's POV

The door slammed back open and Trouble and I jumped to our feet. Bowman grabbed my arm and drug me out into the hallway, with Trouble not too far behind.

"I wanted to have some fun with you before this night ended. I lost my temper when you said Monoso wasn't coming but actually that just gives us more time to be together right?"

I don't like the sound of this. "Together? " We were walking rapidly to a room upstairs. I glanced behind me to see if Trouble was with us , I saw he was. He gave me a sad look, like he knew what was coming.

"You have plenty of admirerers don't you? I see Ken here has taken a liking to you already, are you hoping for a shot with her too?"

I heard him hiss, trying to control his temper. "Yes." He kept the answer short, I guess so he didn't give away how angry he was. As I was dragged through the hallway I looked around and took stock of the surroundings. I could see posters of women on the walls, and it looked like the room we were walking in to had a pole. Oh good, we were at an abandoned strip club! That's a new one. Finally we got to our destination, it looked like where the VIP room would have been when the club was open. There was a bed in the middle of the room, and a dress laying on it.

"I got you a little something for our night. I want you to wear it." He released the grip he had on my upper arm and I could feel the bruise already starting. I went to the bed and picked up the outfit , if it had been any other circumstance I probably would have been thrilled to wear it. Looked expensive, black and short. The shoes sitting on the floor were 4 inch FMP 's , I had a pair in my closet at Rangeman.

"Sure, I can wear that. Is there a bathroom I can change in or….?" Or hide until my boys came to get me… my stomach dropped at the look Bowman gave me.

"You can change right here. I'll be outside, you have 5 minutes. Ken will watch." He turned around and walked out. I caught a glimpse of at least two other guards standing outside before he shut the door again .

Trouble waited til the door was completely shut before striding over to me and giving me a hug. "Just do what he says Steph, until the boys show up. They'll be here soon I'm sure of it." He stepped back and turned around to try and give me some resemblance of privacy.

I nodded , a lump stuck in my throat. I changed quickly and tapped Trouble on the shoulder when it was safe to turn around, I needed his help with the zipper. I could hear his voice crack when he spoke to me again as he zipped me up. "For what it's worth, you look good in this dress."

I couldn't help it, I started to cry. I wanted Bobby and my boys. I wanted to be far away from here, although Trouble was nice enough I just wanted to be back on vacation. Maybe this time we could go some where tropical. I felt the tears fall down my cheeks and I heard my guard make a noise in his throat.

"Shit Stephanie I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" he was interrupted when Bowman came back in the room .

I turned away from the door so he couldn't see my cheeks and wiped the tears quickly away, then turned back towards him. The look he was giving me made my skin crawl.

"Oh yes, this will do nicely. Ken, stay outside, I want to enjoy Ms. Plum alone." I gave Trouble a pleading look but he just nodded and walked outside, shutting the door behind him. Bowman started stalking towards me, making me back up until the backs of my legs hit the bed. "Don't run away from me Ms. Plum, that will just make me more angry."

Panic struck me and I got very still. He stroked my cheek with his fingers and I resisted the urge to throw up. He pushed me back onto the bed , pinning my already red wrists above my head with one hand. His breath was hot on the side of my face, and I tried to turn away from him but he grabbed my chin with his free hand and turned it towards him. I knew what was coming , and I was praying the guys showed up before it happened.

Hector's POV

I let out a low growl as I watched Estephania being man handled by Bowman. I waited too long. "GO. NOW." I called through the comms to the group, and I could hear their voices yelling, then their bodies on the video as they started sweeping through the building. Giving the men directions I let them know where the guards were that needed to be taken out, and let the core team know where florecita was. I breathed a sigh a relief when I saw them outside the room.

Trouble's POV

I was biding my time , standing outside the door to the room that held Stephanie and Bowman when I saw a mob of men in black round the corner. I didn't have a gun so I grabbed one of the men in front of me around the neck with my arm when he was distracted , disarming him quickly. The other guard was taken out by the men approaching, and I raised my hands to show I wasn't a threat.

"Maines? " A large black man who looked to be the leader approached. I nodded and pointed to the door behind me.

"Stephanie is in there with Bowman." I heard growling coming from all four of the men, and I understood their frustration. I counted to three before kicking in the door and the group of us flooded the room.

Stephanie's POV

I heard the door down open and breathed a sigh of relief. My guys had come! Bowman was distracted enough by the crashing of the door and the surge of men in black coming through into the room that he released my hands and I delivered a right hook against his face. Then I rolled off the bed and landed on the ground, making myself as small as possible. I could hear voices yelling and made our "Keep him alive!" before I felt a hand on my back. I flinched for a second but looked up into worried chocolate eyes.

"Bobby!" I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life. Everything else faded away as I heard his voice in my ear .

"I've got you sweetheart. I promise, I've got you. "


	17. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 17

A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews!! I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

Chapter 17

Stephanies POV

The whole takedown only lasted a few minutes, but once I saw Bobby everything else faded away. He pulled me into his lap and held me tightly until we were given the all clear. Once he pulled back from me his face tightened and I realized he saw my cheek.

"That fucker did this? I'll kill him!" That took me by surprise, Bobby was a healer , he didn't usually resort to threats of violence. He pulled me up to my feet and wrapped his arms around me again, not wanting to let go. I didn't blame him, I was feeling a bit clingy myself. Then I finally looked around the room and saw everyone else. When he let me go I went straight for Joe, wrapping my arms around his waist and he wrapped his good arm around me, kissing my curls.

"Joe what are you doing here??"

"Cupcake. There was no way they were leaving me out of this takedown!" He pulled back and looked me over, wincing at my cheek. "I'm glad you're okay."

I felt another presence next to me, and when I turned I saw the deep green eyes of Les. He held his arms open and I stepped into them, and he spoke soft phrases to me in Spanish I didn't understand. After he let me go I got a hug from Tank and when I checked around the room again I realized someone was missing .

"Ranger is back at Haywood." Tank whispered to me and I nodded.

As we were leaving the room I gasped "John! Where is he? You didn't hurt him did you?" The guys glanced at each other but it was Les that finally spoke.

"The bell boy was hiding in a room downstairs, huddled in a corner. We are bringing him in, but he shouldn't see any jail time." He looked at Morelli who nodded.

"Yeah if it was blackmail then he will get a more lienant sentence."

"I'll speak for him. This wasn't his fault." I sighed suddenly exhausted. "Can we get out of here?"

"Of course." I felt Bobby's hand on the small of my back to lead me out of the room, as we made our way out of the building and back to Haywood.

Ranger's POV

I had been waiting with bated breath for what seemed like hours hoping on a confirmation of what went down when I heard my phone buzz.

"Is she okay?" I said immediatley.

"She's injured, but in once piece." Tanks voice came over the phone. "We're on our way back to RM. I think you might want to get the talk done sooner rather than later." And he disconnected.

He was right. I sat down and compiled all the things I wanted to tell her in a list in my head. Whenever she was ready I would be waiting.

Stephanie's POV

We walked in to RM and were met with basically everyone I hadn't already seen. The men were very relieved to see me, all gave me hugs and promised to do unspeakable things to Bowman for me. I smiled and nodded along but mostly was thinking about my shower. "Guys I really appreciate everything you all did for me, but if you don't mind I really need to get to my apartment." I couldn't handle being in the dress any longer, and needed to wash EVERYTHING to try and get rid of the overall sense of ick I was feeling. They dispersed and left me with my core guys. I gave another hug to Joe, promising to catch up with him this weekend and he left with Cal after several one handed fist bumps with the other three. I turned to them and realized we were missing someone. "Where's Trouble?"

They glanced at each other and then back at me. "He went with the Police down to the station to give his statement. Were you expecting him to be here?" Tank looked at me confused.

I wasn't sure why he was so confused at my question until I remembered he actually wasn't a Rangeman employee. "You need to offer him a job Tank. He did everything he was supposed to to protect me AND keep his cover. He deserves to work here." My eyes lit up and they knew I was serious.

"Okay little girl, we will talk it over. For now head up to 4." He was dismissing me, which was fine. I was done with the conversation anyway.

I looked at Bobby "Can I borrow you for a few minutes?" he nodded and we went to my apartment, his medical bag in his hand, it was never too far from him so I wasn't surprised. We walked in and I immediately went to the bathroom. "Can you?" I pointed to the zipper and he nodded, putting the bag down on my bed before following me in. I could feel how tense he was as he drug the zipper down , allowing the dress to fall into a puddle on the floor.

"Steph-" I turned around and cut him off, crushing my mouth to his. I I heard a deep moan but I wasn't sure which one of us it was coming from. When we broke apart he touched his forehead to mine, allowing us to catch our breath. "God I was so worried about you. I'm sorry I didn't take Ranger's warnings more seriously…" Again I cut him off but this time because I unhooked my bra and dropped it on the ground, before slipping off my panties. I heard another moan and that time I knew it was from him. I turned the water on as hot as I could stand it, and looked back at him.

"I might need help…" his eyes shined dark as he quickly stripped and we got in together.

After the shower, we got dressed and he sat me on the bed to check out my injuries. The cheek wasn't broken, but it would hurt for the next few days and leave a nasty bruise. My wrists were red but they would heal, Bobby put salve on both injuries to help the healing process. My arm where Bowman grabbed me was red but fine. My spirit and emotional state however, those were a bit more broken, although the shower helped. "I'll be back as soon as I can okay? Get some rest." He said, kissing my forehead and then he was off.

I laid back on the bed, thinking I would drift off immediatley but I couldn't. I was too wired. I needed to move. So I got up and made my way to the elevators.

Ranger's POV

I felt her before she ever set foot in my hallway. I waited for the doors to open and there she was, massive curls wet from a shower. I did an immediate check for injuries and saw her cheek bruised and her wrists were red, but both looked like they had been doctored already. "Bobby?" I asked and she smiled. I let her in to the apartment and we sat on the couch in silence for a minute before she spoke.

"Why weren't you there?" she said quietly, her eyes downcast. I stopped for a second, that wasn't a question I was expecting .

"I was told I should stay here…" that made her laugh. God I'll miss that laugh.

"You're the boss! I'm surprised you listened… who told you to stay here? "

I cleared my throat "Hector."

Her grin got wide. "Well if it's any consolation, I'm glad we can talk now."

"It is. Ba- Stephanie… I have some things I need to discuss with you."

She nodded. "I do too. Can I go first?" We both smiled and I nodded. "First of all, you can call me Babe. It was your nickname exclusively and it will remain that way. It doesn't affect me the same way it did before… when you would say it I would go weak in the knees and my panties would be ruined." I laughed out loud. I could tell this was going to be a very honest talk. She giggled and continued "But I don't mind you calling me it. I want us to be friends Ranger. You were… are… an important part of my life. You have saved me way more times than a girl should need to be saved, you used to be my person… I know it won't be the same again, I get that. But I really would love it if we could still get along. " She took a breath and reached her hand out to me, so I took it. "I love you. I always will." She squeezed my hand and I ran my thumb over her knuckles. "I will talk to the guys, so they realize this is what I want. I don't want you to be ostracized or pushed out of your own company. That's the last thing I ever wanted." She started to get tears in her eyes so I scooted closer to her and wrapped my arm around her, kissing her temple.

"My turn?" she nodded, leaning against me. "I need you to know , I didn't push you back towards Morelli because I didn't care. The next morning after… I looked down at you and I saw our future. We were married, we had kids."

"A house with a white picket fence and everything?" she giggled.

"Yeah, and a dog. It was perfect babe. We were happy, and everything was perfect. "

"Is that what scared you?" she leaned her head up so she could see my eyes.

"Yes. Because I know the kind of life I have lead, the kind of enemies I've made. As much as I want that life, it's not meant to be. If I thought it would have been anything like that I would have asked you to marry me that morning in bed. But it won't be, and you deserve that, or whatever your version of a perfect life and family is. If it's with Brown, or someone not associated with RM, it doesn't matter. What matters is you. Your safety, your health and your well being. I mean, look what happened to you. That was because of me, because of the distraction I asked you to do." I hung my head and felt her move so she was sitting straight up again.

"Carlos look at me." I picked my head up and held her gaze. "That man could have easily found me working a case for Vinnie, or at Pino's, or driving down the street. I want to work here. I want to help you guys out however and whenever I can. Please don't be mistaken about that, I never once blamed you for this situation."

I shook my head and she reached out placing her hands on either side of my face to keep it in place. "I don't. You shouldn't either. This isn't your fault." I stared into those ice blue eyes and felt the pull to kiss her. She must have sensed it, because she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my lips before releasing and snuggling back into my side. "Continue."

I smiled. "I called Julie, I think I'm going to move down to Miami for awhile." I felt her tense as I continued "I think for now at least that it's best. I can spend some time with her, and give you some space."

"You mean the guys. You just don't want them kicking your ass on the matts!" I felt her laughing against me and joined her.

"That's true too. I was going to hand my part of the business over evenly between Lester, Bobby and Tank." She moved again to look at me and shook her head.

"Don't. Go on vacation, see Julie and spend time with Miami Rangeman, but don't do something that rash on a whim. Like I said, I'll talk to them… all of them. If in a month you want to stay there, then we can figure out the logistics of that. But please, don't do this on my account. Now that we've talked, I feel a million times better… I don't even want to punch you when I look at you now!" We both laughed at that, and soon we had tears in our eyes. After a while she made the move to get up, walking to the front door as I joined her.

"Do you love him?" I asked her, and her eyes sparkled.

"Its a bit early for that… I mean, I do love him, I love all your men. But Bobby…" her face tinged pink and I knew.

"I'm happy for you babe." I leaned down and kissed her on her uninjured cheek before I felt her arms wrap around my midsection.

"Thank you Carlos. For everything. Especially tonight, I'm glad we had the chance to talk."

"Me too babe. Me too."

Hector's POV

I heard a noise coming from outside my office and immediately tensed but when I heard soft feet padding towards me I knew. "Florecita"

"Hi Hector." Stephanie smiled as I rushed to embrace her.

"You're okay?" I pulled back and saw the apparent injury on her cheek. She waved it off.

"I am. Bobby already doctored it, I'll be fine." I lead her to one of the chairs and she curled up into a ball on it, staring at me. "How well do you know Trouble?"

I laughed. "You liked him right?"

She nodded "He did the best in an impossible situation, and I want to make sure he works here. Can you help me convince the guys?"

"Of course florecita but I think his resume can convince them. He excelled in the Army when he was overseas, he has almost as many metals as Ranger does." Her eyes flashed when I said his name. "Have you seen him?" I growled under my breath and she laughed.

"I have. We finally had our talk, and it was good. I want to thank you for asking him to stay here instead of coming to rescue me." Her emphasis on asking made me realize she knew I hadn't. "It was exactly what we needed. For me to come home and us to have a heart to heart without anyone around. He wanted to leave Rangeman. He actually is going to Miami for awhile." That surprised me. Not that he was going to Miami, his daughter was there and he had another business he could run, but the fact she said wanted.

"He's not?" She shook her head.

"I convinced him to take a vacation, visit Julie and his other office. But that he shouldn't give up this company, or move permanently because of me. I want to have a meeting with all the guys first thing in the morning. They need to know he and I are okay, so their treatment of him can't continue on like it has." Her eyes cut to me. "Yours either Hector."

I felt the tiniest bit ashamed, but stood my ground. "He hurt you Estephania, it broke my heart to see you in pain."

She smiled and nodded at me. "I know Hector, and I love you for sticking up for me. But really, I'm okay now. He and I are in a good place, we plan on being friends. And he's your boss, and I like you working here so…." We laughed, knowing he wouldn't fire me.

"Okay Estephania, you're the boss." I winked at her and we stood. "You want to go let the core team know?" she nodded and we walked to the conference room on 5.

Lester's POV

Tank and I had been sitting talking when Bobby walked in. We both caught his wet hair, and I couldn't help but point it out.

"Help beautiful with a shower?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned.

"Yes. Now where do we start?" he sat down and I had to laugh.

"Is this going to be a recurring thing?" he looked like he didn't understand so I pointed to his face . "The huge grin. That going to be a permanent fixture on your face?"

He laughed "I hope so!"

"Okay you two enough. I'm glad little girl is safe and okay. Bobby how are her injuries?"

"Cheek isn't broken, she will have a horrible looking bruise for awhile but it'll be okay. Wrists are a bit raw from the handcuffs, and her arm has a bruise from where the fucker grabbed her hard but it'll fade."

We had been sitting there discussing stuff for awhile when Hector and Stephanie came walking in. Bobby jumped up and offered her a chair, the other two of us stood.

"I thought you were sleeping? Is everything okay?" she nodded and sat down. Hector nodded to us and sat down in the corner of the room.

"What's going on beautiful?" I hissed when I saw her cheek but tried to keep it under wraps. She looked at the three of us and took a deep breath before starting in.

"I couldn't sleep so I went to 7 and talked with Ranger. " All three of us growled and she rolled her eyes at us. "Before you guys freak out, it was good. I want to have a meeting tomorrow morning with all the guys, but I wanted you three to know first. Ranger was planning on dividing his shares of Trenton Rangeman between the three of you and moving to Miami."

We shared glances. I wasn't surprised, my cousin loved this woman and had messed up so bad his own men were turning on him. He probably didn't think he could have their respect any more. He was right.

"I told him not to." Now that caused surprise. I heard Bobby suck in a breath and could tell by his face he was worried. Stephanie didn't even hesitate, she grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I told him he should go for awhile, get away from here if that's what he needed. But not to do it on my account. We talked, he told me his reasons for pushing me towards Morelli, and I understand. Everything is okay." She leaned against Bobby, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Is this really what you want little girl?" Tank asked . "Because we will be happy to take his shares if that'll get him away from you."

She cut her eyes to him. "Yes Tank. This is what I want." She picked her head up off Bobbys shoulder and whispered in his ear. I knew what was said because his face lit up, his eyes went dark and he jumped up.

"We need to go. See you in the morning!" And they practically ran out of the room to the sounds of our laughter.


	18. Trouble in Trenton Chapter 18

A/N: HUGE THANK YOU to my reviewers!!! Seriously you guys made my freaking year. I tried to reply to everyone that had an account but to my guest reviewers I really want to say THANKS!!!

We have come to the end of our story. I was going to push it out but I think this chapter wraps it up nicely. And maybe I'll make a part 2? Who knows! But for real y'all, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Chapter 18

Stephanie's POV

The next morning the alarm went off at 0600 and I was nervous, although I wasn't sure why I laid in bed for a moment, gathering my thoughts, when I heard a noise at the doorway. I glanced over and I saw Bobby grinning, a cup of coffee in one hand and a Boston Creme in the other.

"Ready for this?" he asked as he walked over to me and set the two items down on the end table before leaning over and kissing my forehead.

"As I'll ever be." I smiled , retreating to the bathroom before coming back and getting dressed . I picked up the coffee , taking a deep breath in before sipping. As soon as it hit my tounge I let out a deep moan, and I heard Bobby chuckle. I finished up my coffee and the donut, brushed my teeth and we were off.

We made our way down to the conference room on 5. As I walked in I was greeted by everyone again, like they hadn't seen me the night before but at least now I felt a little more socialable than I had been then. I caught a glimpse of someone standing off to the side, grinning widely at me before I took a running leap towards him.

"Trouble!" he laughed as he caught me.

"Hey SP! Do you guys always start your day this early?" He laughed and sat me down, kissing my uninjured cheek.

I giggled "SP?"

He blushed a bit. "You said they all call you different things, so I thought this one could be my special nickname."

"I like it." I grinned at at him. "And yes, these guys go overboard with their early mornings. I, on the other hand, need copious amounts of coffee and donuts to motivave me this early, although don't tell the boss man. I'm supposed to be cutting back on my sugar intake." I could hear Bobby laugh as I said that and I stuck my tounge out at him. " So what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "No clue. I got a message telling me to be here and at what time, so here I am. I was hoping you could fill me in?"

I was about to answer him when I felt the tingles on the back of my neck start. I cut my eyes towards the door and there was Ranger. The whole room was silent and tense as he walked in and sat down at the head of the table. I patted Trouble on the arm and went back to Bobby, taking my spot next to him.

I could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The three core members and Hector were aware but no one else knew Ranger and I had worked through things , so they were all throwing him daggers. If looks could kill, Ricardo Carlos Manoso would be deader than a doornail.

"A few things this morning." Ranger started in. "One, Stephanie was rescued last night, thanks to Hector and his inside man Ken Maines." He pointed to Trouble and I had to clap for him, causing him to blush. "We are offering Maines a full time position here at Rangeman, starting immediately." More cheering and Troubles' face broke out into a grin. "Now I believe Stephanie wanted to say something as well this morning." All eyes were on me _eeep_!

I stood and waved to everyone. "Thanks Ranger. And thank you to every single one of you that helped locate and rescue me last night." I could see the men's faces pinch when they saw my wound in daylight but I waved it off. "This? Will heal. I plan on doubling my training efforts to make sure it doesn't happen again, and I'll need all of your help." They all nodded and smiled at me. _Okay Steph, here it goes._ "Now I know you all have been protecting me for the last few months from Ranger, but I need you to know, I'm okay." They didn't look convinced . "Really listen and hear me guys. Ranger and I have had a discussion, and things are okay. No need to run interference anymore. Besides " I looked down at Bobby sitting next to me and he grabbed my hand "I'm happy, for the first time in a long time." I stole a glance at Ranger expecting the typical blank face they all usually throw up. Instead I saw hint of sadness behind a small smile. I looked away before I started tearing up and glanced back around at the other men in the room. "So , bottom line… no need to shun Ranger anymore. Now he probably has something else he would like to say." I smiled and sat down, immediately laying my head on Bobby's shoulder.

"Thank you babe." He stood to address the men "Yes, Steph and I have talked, things are good, but I am taking a leave of absence from the Trenton office." That caused a stir. He held up his hand to quiet the room and continued. "I'm spending some time with Julie, and getting the Miami office up to the same level as this one. Tank, Lester and Bobby are in charge while I'm gone, but if anything comes up I will be available. I want to thank you all for your support of Stephanie over the last few months, even though it meant me being called to the mats by most of you. " There was a small ripple of laughter throughout the room . "We are a family here at Rangeman. That means we may fight, a lot, but more importantly, we love each other unconditionally. I'm extremely proud of each and every one of you. Thank you and meeting adjourned." He walked out of the room to applause, and didn't look back.

2 months later

Stephanie's POV

Ranger has been gone for two months , and in that time I've kicked my training into high gear, helping out on numerous takedowns and not just distraction set ups. In fact, it's been a whole month and I haven't rolled in garbage! (Someone knock on wood!!) Trouble has been my partner since he started, and I think we balance each other out pretty well. No explosions as of yet, but we'll see how it's going after a few more months.

Bobby and I are going strong, and we stuck to our promise to each other of taking a mini vacation weekend every month. We went back to N.Y. and finished our Central Park and MoMA date the weekend after I was rescued , and he took me to Point Pleasant last weekend where we spent two days relaxing. It was amazing!!

I can see this thing with Bobby going the distance. He's coming to dinner with my family today and if Grandma Mazur doesn't scare him off, I think it could be real deal. I just need to keep her away from his ass! (Although I wouldn't blame her for wanting to pinch it.)

All the guys are extremely supportive of us. Lester has even stopped flirting with me! (well...almost) We still have our Rangeman weekends with all the guys every so often, which makes me happy.

Joe and I have remained friends, he actually asked Bobby and me to go on a double date with him this weekend!! Normally that would creep me a bit out, but I think he's getting serious about this girl and wants me to check her out. And before you ask, yes I researched her to make sure she was legit. She's an elementary school teacher, and Bob loves her as much as Joe does so it seems like a match made in heaven!

The only down side is that I haven't heard from Ranger at all. It seems a bit weird, seeing as he promised we would be friends, but it isn't just me. None of the team has heard from him since he went to Miami, and I can tell Tank is getting concerned. I told him if we don't hear from him in a week I'm flying to Miami myself and tracking him down.

So my life is going pretty perfect right now, but that's usually when the other shoe drops right? Or in my case, a dead body shows up.

It is the 'Burg after all.


End file.
